All Devices Universal Clipboard

[jpn]

Continuity's Handoff feature of Universal Clipboard makes cut and paste of text between mac and iPhone very easy.
i use it all the time and is one of the growing list of inter-device tools that apple has been making available.

i have one iOS app that i frequently want to paste text into that was copied from my mac.
after having copied the text on the mac, when i open the app on my iPhone the copied text is already pasted into it so that its already sitting there in the app when i open the app.
this is great behavior in this case, since i don't have to actually physically paste it.

there is no info on the web that is readily and completely discernible regarding macOS/iOS Universal Clipboard that provides info about how/why this is/can actually be done with so little interaction from the actual owner.

i don't have any other apps that work like this one does.
is this able to be "pre-pasted" since i have just opened that app and made it the focused app?
is this behavior available to all apps that are sitting "idle" but not "closed"?

i presumed that Universal Clipboard was designed so that copied text is able to be pasted by a user into an app.
but it is clear that apps can be reading this copied text without further user initiated input.

since i only have this one app that exhibits this behavior i can't test if apple has allowed this since the user is the one actually opening that app and therefore it can be presumed the user wants copied text to get text pasted into the app.

 

[cynics]

To clarify this isn't a function of Universal Clipboard its a function of the clipboard in general. Foreground apps and apps in the background using background api's have access to clipboard data.

This is not unique to iOS, its pretty standard across all OS's. Its been a "feature" since clipboard was introduced to iOS 10+ years ago.

You can use Chrome on iOS if you need another example. Copy a link in Safari, goto Chrome, tap on the URL field and it will say "Link you copied : www.whatever.com" without you pressing paste.

This is why sensitive data should NEVER be copied to the clipboard on ANY OS. If you have sensitive data in it on iOS you can copy something else and it will overwrite it.

 

[jpn]

To clarify this isn't a function of Universal Clipboard its a function of the clipboard in general. Foreground apps and apps in the background using background api's have access to clipboard data.

This is not unique to iOS, its pretty standard across all OS's. Its been a "feature" since clipboard was introduced to iOS 10+ years ago.

You can use Chrome on iOS if you need another example. Copy a link in Safari, goto Chrome, tap on the URL field and it will say "Link you copied : www.whatever.com" without you pressing paste.

This is why sensitive data should NEVER be copied to the clipboard on ANY OS. If you have sensitive data in it on iOS you can copy something else and it will overwrite it.

thanks for your post.

so, you have said:

on iOS:

1 any app running in the foreground has access to clipboard text;
and can even use that text even if i don't overtly paste that text into that app

2 any app not even open but which has Background App refresh set to on has access to clipboard text;
and can even use that text even if i don't overtly paste that text into that app

since i posted my original post i have found a 2nd app on my iPhone that also has this behavior.
but this app, though similar to the example you gave in Chrome having a dialogue box stating it is is using yr clipboard text, but in my 2nd example this app actually has a dialog box that asks me if i want that app to use that text.

so there are three possible results:
1 an app uses background text without any notification (my 1st example)
2 an app uses background text but notifying you of that (yr Chrome example)
3 an app that provides a request to use background text (my 2nd example)

an additional obvious use case for clipboard text to be used automatically is for apple to allow verification numbers sent via sms or push messaging to be pasted in automatically in apps that require that verification number.

thanks

 

[cynics]

thanks for your post.

so, you have said:

on iOS:

1 any app running in the foreground has access to clipboard text;
and can even use that text even if i don't overtly paste that text into that app

2 any app not even open but which has Background App refresh set to on has access to clipboard text;
and can even use that text even if i don't overtly paste that text into that app

since i posted my original post i have found a 2nd app on my iPhone that also has this behavior.
but this app, though similar to the example you gave in Chrome having a dialogue box stating it is is using yr clipboard text, but in my 2nd example this app actually has a dialog box that asks me if i want that app to use that text.

so there are three possible results:
1 an app uses background text without any notification (my 1st example)
2 an app uses background text but notifying you of that (yr Chrome example)
3 an app that provides a request to use background text (my 2nd example)

an additional obvious use case for clipboard text to be used automatically is for apple to allow verification numbers sent via sms or push messaging to be pasted in automatically in apps that require that verification number.

thanks

To clarify on point 2. Any of Apples background framework API's are required including but not limited too background fetch (background app refresh). So navigation, music, airplay, VOIP, etc can access clipboard data with or without your knowledge.

Basically any app foreground or background that isn't suspended. Might as well assume all of them to caution on the side of err.

To the best of my knowledge (which is limited on this topic) SMS verification codes operate differently. iOS looks at text field (UITextView, etc), from there it looks for what is required (normal text, passwords, emails, credit card, address info, verification code, etc), from there it uses the information available to add the info to the QuickType bar above the keyboard. Ex. a field that requires your zip code can use your home/work address to display zip codes in the QuickType bar. Verification codes are the same but have a limited time window with specific format requirement. Those functions are operating outside the clipboard (pasteboard).