The Reddit and LinkedIn apps are the latest to be found by iOS 14 to be snooping on your iOS device’s clipboard without your permission. Both apps will receive updates to fix the issue.
Developers of both apps say nothing sinister is behind the clipboard copying.
“We tracked this down to a codepath in the post composer that checks for URLs in the pasteboard and then suggests a post title based on the text contents of the URL,” a Reddit spokesperson told The Verge. “We do not store or send the pasteboard contents. We removed this code and are releasing the fix on July 14th.”
In a statement to ZDNet, LinkedIn said that the clipboard copying behavior is a bug and is not intended behavior. A LinkedIn Vice President also said that the contents of the clipboard are not stored or transmitted. A fix for the issue is being worked on and should be available soon.
The Reddit and LinkedIn apps are merely the latest apps to have been found to be copying the clipboard, thanks to a new feature in the iOS 14 beta that alerts users when apps attempt to do so. Other apps found dipping their hands into the clipboard till includes those from TikTok, Twitter, Starbucks, Overstock, and more.
Before the iOS 14 beta release, two developers warned of iPhone and iPad apps accessing clipboard content on the sly.
Until iOS 14 is released to the public this fall, users can prevent apps from reading any potentially sensitive information such as passwords, credit cards, bank account information, and more by highlighting a word on any web page, app, or document and selecting “Copy” in the pop-up menu. The nosy apps will read that word instead of personal info. We suggest copying the words “screw you.”
(Image via MacRumors)
