With iOS 14, you’ll be told when an app reads your clipboard
- jun
- 23
What you need to know
- iOS 14 notifies users when an app reads their clipboard.
- Those testing the developer beta are noticing the behavior a lot.
- This is to deal with a privacy issue spotted earlier this year.
Why are they reading it at all?
Earlier this year it was noted that some apps were reading users' clipboards for seemingly no reason other than to keep tabs on them. When iOS 14 ships later this month users will be told exactly when that happens, naming and shaming the app in the process.
Those testing the first iOS 14 developer beta have noticed that many, many apps cause the alert to trigger and while it makes sense for many of them, it doesn't for others.
This is what the alert looks like in its current form.
Looks like @apple fixed the clipboard privacy issue we highlighted earlier this year. Apple said it wasn’t an issue, but surprisingly they fixed it in #iOS14 the exact way we recommended in our article.
— Mysk (@mysk_co) June 22, 2020
A notification is shown every time an app or widget reads the clipboard
? pic.twitter.com/o6vZzQqO8a
While there are apps that check the contents of a device's clipboard for legitimate reasons, I can't imagine that Call of Duty Mobile is one of them.
I just caught Call of Duty Mobile spying on my clipboard lol pic.twitter.com/dp15Eo81SY
— Jacob White (@JacobEthanWhite) June 22, 2020
It'll be interesting to see whether Apple dials these alerts back a little or if apps stop reading the clipboard when they don't have a proper reason to do it.