Apple Expands Spotlight Clipboard Settings in macOS Tahoe 26.1

[MacRumors]

Apple quietly added a small but notable enhancement to Spotlight in macOS Tahoe 26.1, which was released on Monday. The update introduces new clipboard history controls for Spotlight, allowing users to decide how long copied items remain accessible in search results.

Previously, Spotlight could optionally retain clipboard contents for up to eight hours, but the latest update expands that flexibility with three options – 30 minutes, 8 hours, or 7 days. There's also a new "Clear Clipboard History" button in System Settings ➝ Spotlight, giving users the ability to manually wipe stored clipboard data without having to wipe Spotlight search history wholesale.

The changes should be welcomed by anyone wanting finer control over how long potentially sensitive information is retained by Spotlight, and it puts the feature more on par with third-party clipboard management apps. Apple did not mention the change in its macOS 26.1 release notes, suggesting it may be just one of several under-the-radar refinements to macOS Tahoe 26.

Article Link: Apple Expands Spotlight Clipboard Settings in macOS Tahoe 26.1

 

[sniffies]

Still barebones clipboard compared to Raycast's, but the 7-day history is definitely a much needed improvement.

Other improvements I'd like to see:

1. Single-step keyboard shortcut; ⌘-space-4 just ain't cuttin it
2. Full contents of copied data
3. Copied image size and dimensions
4. Number of characters/words for copied text
5. Allowlist and blocklist for apps; for example, allow copying from Passwords app
6. 30-, 60-, 90-day history
7. Copied data filtering; for example, show text only, images only, links only, etc.
8. Copied data previewing (not opening); for example, preview images, links, etc.
9. Pinning, which would prevent pinned entries from getting cleared beyond history limit

 

[bmustaf]

"Apple quietly added a small..."

Oh, with Spotlight involved it'll be anything but quiet and small.

mds, mds_stores, etc are things of nightmares, hahaha.

 

[jarman92]

Nice! I use and am very happy with Paste, but happy to see Apple still working on this because I need it on iOS!

 

[tkermit]

Still barebones clipboard compared to Raycast's, but the 7-day history is definitely a much needed improvement.

Other improvements I'd like to see:
...

I had hoped to see something closer to Paste, which feels way more Apple-like... this is barely an MVP.

 

[MikeX]

so what happens to our passwords copied with 1password? do they get indexed for everyone to find?

 

[RootFayel]

Nice! I use and am very happy with Paste, but happy to see Apple still working on this because I need it on iOS!

This has to be on the way for iOS. Long overdue!

 

[Devnul0]

so what happens to our passwords copied with 1password? do they get indexed for everyone to find?

Hopefully whatever it is that password managers do to keep the things that they stuff into the pasteboard from getting involved with Continuity (copy on one device, paste on the other), will keep them out of the hands of Spotlight. But realistically it needs to be tested to be sure, because Apple has shown us some really stupid things.

 

[OptimusGrime]

While the increase in time to 7 days is very welcome, it’s a little frustrating to see that the number of entries still remains at 20. I can’t see much benefit in having the same number of copied items on both 8 hours and 7 days.

If someone could confirm my findings, or indeed correct them, I’d be grateful.

 

[jarman92]

so what happens to our passwords copied with 1password? do they get indexed for everyone to find?

Do you think Spotlight...publishes its index publicly?

 

[WWP99]

I just want it to work. Spotlight is so poorly designed that I can never find a file I literally type the name of. Have to use third-party apps, which are much better.