iOS 16 asks user for permission to copy and paste between apps

Back in 2020, iOS 14 introduced a new banner to alert users when an app is being pasted from the clipboard. This way you will know when the app is reading the clipboard without your consent. Now with iOS 16, Apple is expanding this feature as the system now asks the user for permission to copy and paste between apps.

When you try to paste text or anything else from the clipboard in iOS 16, the app first asks for your permission. If you refuse, this application will not have access to your clipboard. With this new feature, Apple wants to prevent apps from reading sensitive data from a user’s clipboard without the user’s knowledge.

Previously, even if you received a warning that a certain application was reading your clipboard, there was nothing you could do but stop using that application if it bothered you.

Of course, since we’re talking about a beta feature, it still seems a bit confusing when it comes to clipboard updates. For example, some apps simply don’t ask for permissions, and there’s still no menu in privacy settings to easily select which apps can and can’t read the user’s clipboard.

When Apple launched clipboard alerts in iOS 14, several apps like TikTok came under fire as users found themselves silently reading what was copied from other apps. As a result, these apps have been updated to stop accessing the user’s clipboard.

Developers can now download the first beta of iOS 16 through the Apple Developer website. The public beta will be available next month, with an official release expected this fall.

Learn more about iOS 16

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