Apple has already announced to developers that the clipboard will be on the mac on the shovel. Probably from macOS 16 it will no longer be possible to automatically read the contents of the clipboard. This is now the case, from now on the approval of the user is mandatory.
This is not new, on an iPhone and iPad, Apple has limited the clipboard for apps since iOS 14. This was necessary because apps read the content unsolicited and used the collected data. From now on the user must first give permission for an app to read the data, this privacy option will also come to macOS.
Clipboard is limited from macOS 16
Apple has announced The automatic reading of the clipboard in a future update of macOS. Probably from macOS 16 that is expected this fall.
The company wants to tackle the clipboard automatically. Now it is true that all apps on your Mac can view the clipboard and use the data thereof. This way the app can recognize that you have copied an e-mail address and can automatically stick it in the desired field for you.
User confirmation
If an app wants to request the content of your clipboard, MacOS will now send a notification asking if the application may view the contents of the clipboard. Only after approval is the content released to the app. With this, Apple wants to prevent the unseen collecting of data. Apple has already introduced this under iOS and iPados.
Note that this is only the case with the automatic reading of the clipboard. Stick yourself from the clipboard with for example command⌘ + Vthen you don’t have to confirm this extra.
Awareness
Not only do you have to confirm that an app wants to read the clipboard, you will also see clipboard messages. When an app reads your clipboard, a notification appears at the top of the screen. It states which app the clipboard has opened and viewed.
Type of data is known
Is this at the expense of the automatic entering of data? No. Developers can still read the clipboard and get the information about what kind of data is about. An e-mail address, telephone number, text, image, tracking number, etc. This means that the app can only request permission to read the clipboard if there is relevant information.
Always give permission
In the system settings of the upcoming macOS version you can set per application whether it can always read your clipboard automatically, as is now the case whether you first want to receive a warning. Of course you can also fully limit an app access to the clipboard and block it. This gives you as a user more control over what happens to your clipboard.