LinkedIn was found copying the contents of an iOS device's clipboard, a user of iOS 14 Developer beta tweeted; the user highlighted the seemingly privacy-invasive practice earlier this week. The forthcoming iOS 14 notifies users when an app is pasting from the clipboard. LinkedIn's Engineering VP, Erran Berger, acknowledged the issue and said it doesn't store or transmit the clipboard contents. He said a fix will soon be released.
TikTok was called out for similar behavior last week. The app similarly appeared to be repeatedly grabbing clipboard contents as a user typed, leading to concern that it was spying on data from other apps. TikTok said the behavior was part of an “anti-spam” feature and that it would discontinue the practice.
The behavior was discovered thanks to a new privacy feature in iOS 14, which is currently in a limited beta for developers. The operating system now notifies users when an app copies something from another app or device. This has led to people spotting questionable behavior from apps that appear to copy clipboard contents with every keystroke.
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
Tweets From @varindiamag
Nothing to see here - yet
When they Tweet, their Tweets will show up here.
