Apple Executive Responds to Annoying iOS 16 Copy and Paste Prompt: 'Absolutely Not Expected Behavior'

[spcopsmac21]

Apple has responded to user complaints regarding an annoying pop-up in iOS 16 that asks for user permission if an app wants to access the clipboard to paste text, images, and more.

The new prompt was added to iOS 16 as a privacy measure for users, requiring that apps ask for permission to access the clipboard, which may have sensitive data. The prompt, however, has become an annoyance for users as they install iOS 16, as it constantly asks for permission whenever they wish to paste something into an app.

As user annoyance with the behavior boils high, Apple has finally responded, saying the constant pop-up is not how the feature is intended to work. MacRumors reader Kieran sent an email to Craig Federighi and Tim Cook, complaining about the constant prompt and advocating for Apple to treat access to the clipboard the same way iOS treats third-party access to location, camera, microphone, and more.

Ron Huang, a senior manager at Apple, joined the email thread saying the pop-up is not supposed to appear every time a user attempts to paste. "This is absolutely not expected behavior, and we will get to the bottom of it," Huang said. Huang added that this behavior is not something Apple has seen internally but that Kieran is "not the only one" experiencing it.

Responding to the suggestion that clipboard access should be added within the Settings app on a per-app basis, Huang said it would make a "good improvement" and added that Apple "certainly need to fix and make apps like Mail just work even without this setting, but it's nonetheless helpful for apps which users want to share data with even if they didn't initiate it." "Stay tuned," he added.

Huang is listed as one of several inventors of the feature in a patent application dated January 29, 2021.

Apple is currently beta testing iOS 16.1 with developers and public beta testers, but it'll likely be weeks before the update is ready to ship. The latest iOS 16 update for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max is iOS 16.0.1, which addressed, among other things, a bug impacting iMessage and FaceTime activation. All other compatible devices are still running the initial version of iOS 16 released last week.

The clipboard access bug is one of several features Apple could fix in an update to iOS 16, including reports of excessive battery drain and an issue facing iPhone 14 Pro models becoming unresponsive after data is transferred from an older iPhone.

Article Link: Apple Executive Responds to Annoying iOS 16 Copy and Paste Prompt: 'Absolutely Not Expected Behavior'

The amount of time we have been testing iOS 16 it makes me wonder why the 14 series is a bug riddled mess.
My camera makes clicking noises and i cant get crisp images because every picture is hazy. It took 7 hours to activate this phone and twice, TWICE the esim data erased itself and it took another two hours on hold with verizon tech support to find someone who could give me the info to to manually input the esim data.

This launch has been an un mitigated disaster.

 

[RoundaboutRider]

At every annual upgrade the continuous approving of new permissions is just part of the process now. I don’t even notice the annoyance since I just accepted Apple’s newfound “ask for everything first before doing anything” approach.

I applaud Apple’s stance on privacy but now it’s just plain irritating in implementation, every single year. And it’s probably just going to get even more annoying.

 

[mxrider88]

And they made fun of Vista.

 

[verdi1987]

Lol. Another day, another bungle for Apple's software team. I've seen kids in high school that can code with more competency than anyone at Apple lately.

Anyone still think Craig & his Stooges should remain at Apple?

I don't think they do much QA from a dedicated internal QA team. Public beta is the QA—except they frequently don't address reported issues.

 

[Stromos]

That's up to you. If you're having difficulty handling the situation, simply purchase a better phone with no issues from a competitor and experience happiness. Will you do it?

"Still wondering where the threshold is that you go you know what Apple is getting lazy."

Seriously, you should not spend so much time wondering about me.

Again, software and hardware for phones has grown exponentially over the years. And with that, internal Apple testing along with hundreds/thousands outside alpha and beta testers, I still expect there will be early bugs due to the complexity of the software and hardware

I know Apple will fix them. There are much more important things to fret about.

Maybe you should sign up being an alpha/beta tester for Apple and help them find all the bugs that you think should be a slam-dunk to find? Will you do it?

If I wasn't pleased with my Apple products I'd switch in an instant. It seems like that is the best course of action for you.

As an aside, I'm really pleased with my iPhone 14 PM; especially the main camera.

The update you said that's coming in a day or so isn't coming until next week.

To the just go to Apple and easily get it replaced:

Last night an AppleCare senior engineer told me my phone needed to be replaced. He said he would have to transfer me to sales. Sales said they were setting up a return and replacement. I said they can charge my card for the new phone so that I can send this phone back once I receive the replacement. They said all they could do was send me a return label for my phone and once they receive it, a new order would be placed at the back of the line. She said I would be without a phone for about 6 weeks and am I ready to proceed. I told her that is not going to work for obvious reasons, and she offered to transfer me back to AppleCare. Luke Miani already said his camera’s auto focus was permanently broken from this. I don’t know if I trust a software fix after AppleCare senior engineer already said my phone had to be replaced. I ordered a new phone and will return this one.

Also you completely picked what you wanted to leaving out all points on losing hundreds (possibly thousands) in App purchases switching ecosystems. Also if you care about security Apple is the only option there is no "competitor".

Once again you seem to have an issue with people calling Apple out. I refuse to be quiet when the trillion dollar company is having QA issues. I don't care how advanced the technology is or how big the company has grown. They have continued to keep their margins higher than anyone and to say they don't have the ability to QA is insane. This camera issue is an insane disaster. Expect Apple to start backpedaling and having to rush out new phones to people. Telling them to go without a phone for six weeks it beyond insane. Telling everyone to wait a week for a bug that physically breaks the camera on a brand new 2,000 phone is astronomically insane.

If you have a problem in your community don't try to call it out just move someplace else right? It's so simple!

 

[R3k]

All the latest iOS 16 and MacOS Ventura have gone all (1st gen) windows defender in a few ways. The amount of extra queries ive been clicking through on my Mac and iOS devices over the last few months is too much, they're going all out on locking down permissions but it is making many things tedious for the user. Hope Apple have another long hard look at the direction this is going.

 

[verdi1987]

As an iOS developer myself, which button is that? There's a PasteButton object in SwiftUI, but I believe the body is completely customizable. Skipping the prompt wouldn't be safe.

A paste button is what Apple suggested developers use in lieu of automatically reading the clipboard.

 

[cnnyy20p]

I often use Google Translate and this is annoying as hell.

 

[citysnaps]

The update you said that's coming in a day or so isn't coming until next week.

To the just go to Apple and easily get it replaced:


Also you completely picked what you wanted to leaving out all points on losing hundreds (possibly thousands) in App purchases switching ecosystems. Also if you care about security Apple is the only option there is no "competitor".

Once again you seem to have an issue with people calling Apple out. I refuse to be quiet when the trillion dollar company is having QA issues. I don't care how advanced the technology is or how big the company has grown. They have continued to keep their margins higher than anyone and to say they don't have the ability to QA is insane. This camera issue is an insane disaster. Expect Apple to start backpedaling and having to rush out new phones to people. Telling them to go without a phone for six weeks it beyond insane. Telling everyone to wait a week for a bug that physically breaks the camera on a brand new 2,000 phone is astronomically insane.

If you have a problem in your community don't try to call it out just move someplace else right? It's so simple!

"The update you said that's coming in a day or so isn't coming until next week."

Where did I say that? Seems like you're making stuff up now. Why not stick to the truth instead? After that how can I believe anything you say?

It's up to you. Stick with Apple or don't stick with Apple and take responsibility and do something about your unhappiness. Your choice.

If you really wanted to see change you could write Apple or Tim Cook and let them know how you feel. That would actually be helpful. But that would also take a bit of effort and personal responsibility.

 

[sdf]

A paste button is what Apple suggested developers use in lieu of automatically reading the clipboard.

Sure, but if you can control the body of the button you can rename it to "Refresh." I guess they could allow promptness only if people don't customize the body, but it's going to be a fight to keep that enforceable. Like maybe a developer could put a button on top of it with a different label and maybe have the tap drop though.

 

[cashinstinct]

I had this issue all the time with Instapaper since iOS 16, until they updated September 19, 2022 to version 8.1.3 and it fixed the issue for that app.

 

[FelixDerKater]

Once per app is useful, especially to deny access to apps that have no use for your clipboard.

 

[uczcret]

Once per app is useful, especially to deny access to apps that have no use for your clipboard.

It's not once per app though. On my 13PM, it shows up every time I try to paste anything on any app (first or third party). I just tried pasting some text from MR on Safari to Notes twice, and I got the pop-up both times. 🤦‍♂️

 

[FelixDerKater]

It's not once per app though. It shows up every time I try to paste anything on any app (first or third party). I just tried pasting some text from MR on Safari to Notes twice, and I got the pop-up both times. 🤦‍♂️

Indeed. That would be the desired functionality, but it will get there eventually.

 

[MilaM]

There should be a paste button on the keyboard, just like on iPadOS. Problem solved.

 

[silentdevotion]

I have iOS 16 on an iPhone X and a iPhone 14 Pro. I have not seen this pop up even once.

Am I supposed to have seen it and this is another bug? Did I luck out and got a not annoying version of the bug?

I use Swiftkey as my keyboard and it has a feature that automatically copies what's on your clipboard into the menu option.(you can select the pasted item instead of long pressing or bringing up the cut, copy and paste menu). It's one of the things that made the keyboard even better, now in IOS 16 it asks me each time it wan't to copy anything pasted. Every annoying for someone that copies things all day long, that's 30+ extra prompts a day I don't need.

 

[antiprotest]

I use Swiftkey as my keyboard and it has a feature that automatically copies what's on your clipboard into the menu option.(you can select the pasted item instead of long pressing or bringing up the cut, copy and paste menu). It's one of the things that made the keyboard even better, now in IOS 16 it asks me each time it wan't to copy anything pasted. Every annoying for someone that copies things all day long, that's 30+ extra prompts a day I don't need.

Today Apple finally said that this was unintended so hopefully it will be fixed for everybody in an update soon.

 

[SnappleRumors]

I’m thinking there’s a bunch of emails, finger pointing, and CYA going on today. This week is shaping up to have 7 Mondays in it in Cupertino.

 

[verdi1987]

Sure, but if you can control the body of the button you can rename it to "Refresh." I guess they could allow promptness only if people don't customize the body, but it's going to be a fight to keep that enforceable. Like maybe a developer could put a button on top of it with a different label and maybe have the tap drop though.

Yes, that’s a loophole that allows an app to be surreptitious.

 

[jonnysods]

This happened to me constantly on the public beta for certain apps.

 

[verdi1987]

Honestly, I think the best implementation was when iOS simply displayed an unintrusive banner that the app had pasted from the clipboard. If I felt an app was behaving badly, I could choose not to use the app.

Apple should add Clipboard to an app’s privacy settings. If you blocked an app from using the clipboard, only then should it show the Don’t Allow Paste / Allow Paste dialog.

 

[sdf]

Honestly, I think the best implementation was when iOS simply displayed an unintrusive banner that the app had pasted from the clipboard. If I felt an app was behaving badly, I could choose not to use the app.

Same. The app gets one undeserved peek for free.

 

[theshade247]

How could Apple not be aware of this issue during testing?

I've been using iOs 16 beta since June, I didn't see this once, but with GM update it pop ups all the time. Looks like it got broke in the latest update.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

How could Apple not be aware of this issue during testing?

You've got to actually have a testing team if you want to pick something up in testing. Apple seemingly abandoned this concept many years ago. Most likely around the same time they abandoned "it just works".

 

[I7guy]

You've got to actually have a testing team if you want to pick something up in testing. Apple seemingly abandoned this concept many years ago. Most likely around the same time they abandoned "it just works".

The same way I wasn’t aware of this issue. For me, “it just works”. Ymmv.