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LinkedIn Says iOS App Reading Clipboard With Every Keystroke is a Bug, Fix Coming

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Apr 12, 2001
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iOS 14 introduces a feature that alerts users when apps access their clipboards, and tons of apps have been caught clipboard snooping.

linkedinclipboardbug.jpg

LinkedIn is one of the iOS apps that has been reading user clipboards, and iPhone owners have complained that the app copies the contents of the clipboard with every keystroke.


In a statement to ZDNet, LinkedIn said that the clipboard copying behavior is a bug and is not intended behavior. A VP at LinkedIn also said that the contents of the clipboard are not stored or transmitted. A fix for the issue is in the works, and should be available soon.


Other apps like TikTok, Twitter, Starbucks, Overstock, AccuWeather, and more have been caught reading user clipboards for no discernible reason. TikTok claimed that the clipboard access was used as fraud detection to suss out "repetitive, spammy behavior," and TikTok released an iOS update to remove it.


Ahead of the release of iOS 14, a pair of developers released a report letting users know that iPhone and iPad apps were accessing clipboard content behind the scenes. Apple's new iOS 14 feature appears to have been added in response, and there's no longer a way for apps to quietly read the clipboard without users being alerted to the behavior.

Article Link: LinkedIn Says iOS App Reading Clipboard With Every Keystroke is a Bug, Fix Coming
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/07/03/linkedin-ios-14-clipboard-access-bug/
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chabig

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Sep 6, 2002
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MacRumors said:
LinkedIn is one of the iOS apps that has been reading user clipboards, and iPhone owners have complained that the app copies the contents of the clipboard with every keystroke...In a statement to ZDNet, LinkedIn said that the clipboard copying behavior is a bug and is not intended behavior.
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Of course it’s a bug. The intended behavior is to copy the clipboard every other keystroke.
 
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Bill Av

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Oct 21, 2006
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I have a few apps that look at my clipboard for legitimate reasons (hey, you seem to have a tracking number on your clipboard...). I never really thought about it, but I figured that it was all done locally (d'oh). Do these apps transmit everything? So if I copy a password from 1Password, paste it, then launch my package tracker afterwards to check on a shipment - is my password being sent out?
 
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Wags

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Mar 5, 2006
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grad said:
Companies/Governments/etc assume that x % of people are just too stupid to know, care, and ask questions, while 100-x % would still prefer the blue pill rather than the red after they find out.
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I would think there would be more public outrage when corporations or retailers don’t protect our data or use it for whatever the want. Maybe news worthy then old news the next day.
 
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Jazz Baby

Jazz Baby

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Feb 8, 2017
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Newbie here. By clearing my browser history do I remove the ability for these sites to do this or do I need a deeper clean?
 
riverfreak

riverfreak

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Bill Av said:
I have a few apps that look at my clipboard for legitimate reasons (hey, you seem to have a tracking number on your clipboard...). I never really thought about it, but I figured that it was all done locally (d'oh). Do these apps transmit everything? So if I copy a password from 1Password, paste it, then launch my package tracker afterwards to check on a shipment - is my password being sent out?
Click to expand...
That certainly seems to be a possibility, at least for passwords you copy directly from 1Password (or any password manager). I don’t know what mechanism the autofill feature uses.
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Jazz Baby said:
Newbie here. By clearing my browser history do I remove the ability for these sites to do this or do I need a deeper clean?
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This relates to the LinkedIn app, not browsing LinkedIn through a web browser. IMHO don‘t ever use a dedicated app regardless if the experience is better if you can just use a browser.
 
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GeoStructural

GeoStructural

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boss.king said:
The LinkedIn app has so many other terrible, spammy, shady practices that I don't for a single second believe that this is in any way a bug.
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The fact that I have a profile that I never created lets me know they are a shady and opportunistic company. I once had to host something on SlideShare for academic purposes and they used my information from that account to create one on their site.

This sure is not a bug, I am glad they got caught.
 
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