People stunned at time-saving Google hack that could 'change your life'

People are stunned over a time-saving Google hack that could 'change your life'.

Anything that makes our lives quicker with gadgets and shortcuts should never be underestimated. After all, time is precious. So any way to check flight times without opening several browsers, or view files in a single tap, is always welcome.

A recent discussion on Reddit highlighted time-saving hacks that iPhone users swear by, such as 'tapping the top of the screen to go back up to the top of an app or webpage' and the hidden motion sickness setting that some have found to be 'life-saving.'

But productivity shortcuts aren't limited to iPhones or Android smartphones.

it has come to my attention that this is not universal knowledge

you can just type https://t.co/prfdqNqr5m or https://t.co/HMVIGA1uSh into your browser

and it will immediately open a new google doc or sheet

— Sina (@SinaHartung) September 12, 2025

Google has developed some powerful, but subtle, time-savers for tablets and laptops that many users are entirely unaware of.

"it has come to my attention that this is not universal knowledge," one user posted on X. "you can just type http://docs.new or http://sheets.new into your browser and it will immediately open a new google doc or sheet".

While Google introduced this feature back in 2018, it appears to have flown under the radar for many users. The best part is that it functions in any browser, not just Google Chrome.

So whether you're using Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari or Mozilla Firefox, the shortcut will work just fine.

Simply type doc.new, docs.new, or document.new into your chosen browser's address bar. Similarly, for Google Sheets, the shortcuts are sheet.net, sheets.new, or spreadsheet.new.

The post has since received over 855,500 views, reflecting just how many people were previously unaware of this functionality, as well as 14,000 likes and 4,000 saves.

Some social media users were amazed, replying: "News to me lol" while another admitted: "i was today years old".

However, other on-the-ball viewers didn't care for the revelation so much.

"Ya good thing I don’t use Google though. Microsoft office ftw," wrote one user and "this is like... so obvious," remarked someone else.

In the r/LifeProTips subreddit, additional Google fans confirmed that the shortcut system extends beyond just Docs and Sheets and actually works for a bunch of Google tools. For example, for Google Forms, users can search forms.new or form.new in the address bar, and for Google Slides, there's slide.new, slides.new or presentation.new.

Elsewhere, Apple is releasing several new features in their fall line-up to make our tech lives easier, including health tracking capabilities for the new AirPods Pro 3 and blood pressure monitoring functionalities for the Apple Watch.