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iOS 16.1 Introduces New Copy-and-Paste Permission Settings on Per-App Basis

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iOS 16 introduced a new privacy feature that requires apps to receive a user's permission before directly accessing their iPhone's clipboard to paste text from other apps, but some users experienced an issue that caused the prompt to appear excessively. Apple released iOS 16.0.2 with a fix for the issue and other bugs in late September.

Paste-From-Other-Apps-Feature-1.jpg

Apple has continued to refine the copy-and-paste feature in the weeks since. In the Settings app on the fourth beta of iOS 16.1 and later, a new "Paste from Other Apps" menu appears for apps that have previously asked for permission to paste content from another app. The menu can be found in the Settings app → [App Name] → Paste from Other Apps.

The menu presents users with three options:
  • Ask: The app must continue to request permission to paste content from other apps.
  • Deny: The app cannot paste content from other apps.
  • Allow: The app can paste content from other apps without asking for permission again.
The menu gives users more granular control and flexibility over the copy-and-paste permission prompts, which should help make the privacy feature less of a nuisance. Note that the menu does not appear for apps that have never requested clipboard permission.

Last month, an Apple engineer said the copy-and-paste permission prompt only appears when an app attempts to access the clipboard directly. The prompt does not appear when a user selects the "Paste" option in the menu that pops up after highlighting text or interacts with apps that have paste buttons based on the UIPasteControl framework.

iOS 16.1 remains in beta testing and is expected to be released later this month.

(Thanks, Youssef Salem!)

Article Link: iOS 16.1 Introduces New Copy-and-Paste Permission Settings on Per-App Basis
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/10/17/ios-16-1-paste-from-other-apps-settings/
Last edited:
  • Wow
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Reactions: KeithBN and sorgo †
Still no way to quickly dismiss a calendar reminder if you happen to be in another app when they come in.
Have to either tap it, which takes you into the calendar app, or go to the home screen.
Weird.
Also new in iOS 16 in order to dismiss a text and you're in another app and tap the text you just got you then have to go out of the text after reading it and to the main text screen where the rest of the texts are and then back in to said text. Beyond annoying.
 
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Reactions: jagooch, compwiz1202, nerdherdster and 1 other person
It would be nice to have a specific permissions window with all the apps that have requested permission in the first place, but this is a good start
 
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Reactions: schneeland
goro123 said:
Isn't this becoming a bit too complex?

I agree against allowing any app to read the clipboard, of course. But a system setting for that?

Apple used to be about making the right decisions for the user and offering a clean experience.
Click to expand...
Not at all, this is a huge improvement. There are apps that will just copy without asking that you may need to use and not want to be spammed with the prompt, the deny option will help with that.

There are other times auto-pasting or asking is helpful such as entering tracking numbers.There is no one option that will be preferable in every case.
 
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Reactions: jagooch, sportsnut, Shirasaki and 5 others
goro123 said:
Isn't this becoming a bit too complex?

I agree against allowing any app to read the clipboard, of course. But a system setting for that?

Apple used to be about making the right decisions for the user and offering a clean experience.
Click to expand...
As devs have figured out how to have their apps game the system, Apple is caught between a rock and hard place. These new options are just one of the rocks.
 
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Reactions: BigMcGuire and icanhazmac
I've been using the 16.1 betas for weeks now and haven't seen the prompt once. So maybe Apple "fixed" it by removing it altogether 😅
 
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sfschier said:
Where in settings in 16.1 is this setting?
Click to expand...

ChedNasad said:
I don't see the option and am on the most recent public beta?
Click to expand...
It only appears in the settings of apps that have shown the copy-and-paste permission prompt at least once.

jarman92 said:
I've been using the 16.1 betas for weeks now and haven't seen the prompt once. So maybe Apple "fixed" it by removing it altogether 😅
Click to expand...

Last month, an Apple engineer said the copy-and-paste permission prompt only appears when an app attempts to access the clipboard directly. The prompt does not appear when a user selects the "Paste" option in the menu that pops up after highlighting text.
 
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Reactions: Skyuser, TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ and brucemr
goro123 said:
Isn't this becoming a bit too complex?

I agree against allowing any app to read the clipboard, of course. But a system setting for that?

Apple used to be about making the right decisions for the user and offering a clean experience.
Click to expand...
Oh lord. You people absolutely insist on finding a way to hate and criticize Apple no matter what they do. It's not too complex. It's easy to do.
 
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Reactions: jagooch, Shirasaki, KeithBN and 1 other person
I love it! I had to write a custom shortcut to clear out the clipboard while opening certain apps. And still, it wasn’t working reliably. A system setting would be awesome!
 
Joe Rossignol said:
It only appears in the settings of apps that have shown the copy-and-paste permission prompt at least once.



Last month, an Apple engineer said the copy-and-paste permission prompt only appears when an app attempts to access the clipboard directly. The prompt does not appear when a user selects the "Paste" option in the menu that pops up after highlighting text.
Click to expand...
Doesn't answer the questiion. I still get the prompts and have to give permission. Instead of cutting off the screen shot in the article how about just telling us! (or show us the path)
 
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Reactions: jagooch and Shirasaki
FINALLY!!!
Question: is thia what we need or is there some other way the apps can bypass the intention of this protection?
 
Paddle1 said:
Not at all, this is a huge improvement. There are apps that will just copy without asking that you may need to use and not want to be spammed with the prompt, the deny option will help with that.

There are other times auto-pasting or asking is helpful such as entering tracking numbers.There is no one option that will be preferable in every case.
Click to expand...

Agree, this is much needed. The clipboard is special, there's pretty much no other place where you can be guaranteed to frequently find sensitive information. Apps should no more be able to read it unless necessary than they should your contacts or photos.
 
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Reactions: Paddle1
A social media app that is somewhat popular in Germany (Jodel) literally asks me every time I just navigate through the app, to allow pasting from Safari without even having a comment box, text field or anything open. Does that mean they have always been just taking everything from your copy paste as soon as you launch the app?
 
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