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.
Linkedin and Reddit both check your clipboard and copy and paste your clipboard contents with every keystroke – even when you’re in another app. Another set of potential privacy violators have been called out by iOS 14’s new paste notifications. The discovery was publicized on Twitter by Don Cubed of urspace.io, who noted that his discovery was very similar to the experience of Jeremy Burge who called out Tik Tok for the same behavior early this week.
LinkedIn and Reddit aren’t the only apps that have been caught copying clipboard contents. Researchers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk have published a list of more than 50 iOS apps that do the same thing. One of the apps that caught the most attention on the list was TikTok, which isn’t exactly a privacy role model.