With iOS 14, you'll be told when an app reads your clipboard

iPhone 11 Pro (Image credit: iMore)

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.

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.
A notification is shown every time an app or widget reads the clipboard
👇 pic.twitter.com/o6vZzQqO8aLooks 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.
A notification is shown every time an app or widget reads the clipboard
👇 pic.twitter.com/o6vZzQqO8a— Mysk 🇨🇦🇩🇪 (@mysk_co) June 22, 2020 June 22, 2020

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/dp15Eo81SYI just caught Call of Duty Mobile spying on my clipboard lol pic.twitter.com/dp15Eo81SY— Jacob White (@JacobEthanWhite) June 22, 2020 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.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.

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