Reddit and LinkedIn stop copying iPhone clipboards:
Reddit and LinkedIn are changing their apps to prevent them from looking at the Apple iPhone clipboard.
In a developer trial of the latest update to the phone's operating system, iOS 14, users are notified whenever an app accesses the device's copied text.
The notification exposed frequent scanning of the clipboard by apps that many users thought should not need to do so.
The two firms follow TikTok in changing their apps amid the criticism.
[...] In research published in March, Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk identified dozens of apps which they said had accessed the clipboard.
At the time Apple said it did not think it was a vulnerability.
There are legitimate reasons why an app needs clipboard access - for example, in order to share a website address with a message platform, or to grab a password from a password manager and paste it into a password-protected service.
Related:
Reddit says it's fixing code in its iOS app that copied clipboard contents
Apple iOS 14 Alerts Reveal Reddit App Is Reading User Clipboard Data
Reddit promises to stop accessing user clipboards after being exposed by iOS 14
Previously:
(2020-06-28) TikTok and 53 Other iOS Apps Still Snoop Your Sensitive Clipboard Data
(2020-02-27) Apple Takes Heat Over 'Vulnerable' iOS Cut-and-Paste Data
(Score: 5, Interesting) by meustrus on Tuesday July 07 2020, @08:29PM (3 children)
They only stopped because users complained.
Users only complained because Apple put up an annoying notification banner whenever the app was doing it.
Apple only put up the annoying notification banner because security researchers begged them to.
And of course, Android apps can still do it, because Google doesn't listen to security researchers nearly as much as it listens to its buddies in the malware distribution business.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday July 07 2020, @08:48PM (1 child)
Apple wants to be seen as safe and secure with their walled garden. Then, they need to act like it.
Android remains the wild west of phone operating systems. Just like Windows is the wild west of Desktop Operating Systems.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:23AM
Android is a wild west movie of phone operating systems.
The architect is watching [rapgenius.com]
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Wednesday July 08 2020, @11:42AM
I wish Apple would add a permission to access the speaker. No more ads blaring out while playing solitaire on the down-low.