iOS 16.1 Introduces New Copy-and-Paste Permission Settings on Per-App Basis

iOS 16 introduced a new privacy feature that requires apps to receive a user's permission before directly accessing their iPhone's clipboard to paste text from other apps, but some users experienced an issue that caused the prompt to appear excessively. Apple released iOS 16.0.2 with a fix for the issue and other bugs in late September.

Paste From Other Apps Feature 1
Apple has continued to refine the copy-and-paste feature in the weeks since. In the Settings app on the fourth beta of iOS 16.1 and later, a new "Paste from Other Apps" menu appears for apps that have previously asked for permission to paste content from another app. The menu can be found in the Settings app → [App Name] → Paste from Other Apps.

The menu presents users with three options:

  • Ask: The app must continue to request permission to paste content from other apps.
  • Deny: The app cannot paste content from other apps.
  • Allow: The app can paste content from other apps without asking for permission again.

The menu gives users more granular control and flexibility over the copy-and-paste permission prompts, which should help make the privacy feature less of a nuisance. Note that the menu does not appear for apps that have never requested clipboard permission.

Last month, an Apple engineer said the copy-and-paste permission prompt only appears when an app attempts to access the clipboard directly. The prompt does not appear when a user selects the "Paste" option in the menu that pops up after highlighting text or interacts with apps that have paste buttons based on the UIPasteControl framework.

iOS 16.1 remains in beta testing and is expected to be released later this month.

(Thanks, Youssef Salem!)

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

MacRumors x Bloomberg Banner Cool

Apple Reportedly Plans to Unveil at Least Five New Products Next Week

Sunday February 22, 2026 9:48 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple will have a three-day stretch of product announcements from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4. In total, he expects Apple to introduce "at least five products." Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A week ago, Apple invited selected journalists and content creators to an "Apple Experience" in...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3.1 Update for iPhones Coming Soon as 'Apple Experience' Nears

Sunday February 22, 2026 5:29 pm PST by
Apple's software engineers are testing iOS 26.3.1, according to the MacRumors visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.3.1 should be a minor update that fixes bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, and it will likely be released within the next two weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.2.1 with bug fixes and support for the second-generation...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday February 20, 2026 3:21 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone this year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that Apple will release its first foldable device in 2026. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about ...
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

Apple is Testing These iPhone 18 Pro and Foldable iPhone Colors

Sunday February 22, 2026 8:41 am PST by
The special new color that Apple is considering for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max this year is red, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Specifically, he said that Apple is testing a "deep red" finish for the two devices. If this rumor materializes, it would be the first time that the Pro and Pro Max models ever come in red, and the iPhone 18 Pro models would be the first...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's Low-Cost Colorful MacBook: All the Rumors

Friday February 20, 2026 2:37 pm PST by
Apple has been developing a more affordable version of the MacBook, and it's rumored to be launching in under two weeks. This is going to be one of Apple's most unique Macs, because there hasn't really been anything quite like it before. We've rounded up everything we know about the low-cost MacBook ahead of its March debut. Design Rumors about the MacBook's design make it sound a lot...

Top Rated Comments

sniffies Avatar
44 months ago
Anything Zuck-related:

Deny Deny Deny Deny Deny
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FelixDerKater Avatar
44 months ago
Options are good. Keep up the good work.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JosephAW Avatar
44 months ago
iOS has officially become Vista. :rolleyes:

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44 months ago
Finally! I've been waiting for this security feature for SO LONG
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44 months ago

Isn't this becoming a bit too complex?

I agree against allowing any app to read the clipboard, of course. But a system setting for that?

Apple used to be about making the right decisions for the user and offering a clean experience.
Not at all, this is a huge improvement. There are apps that will just copy without asking that you may need to use and not want to be spammed with the prompt, the deny option will help with that.

There are other times auto-pasting or asking is helpful such as entering tracking numbers.There is no one option that will be preferable in every case.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bLackjackj Avatar
44 months ago

Apple released iOS 16.0.2 with a fix for the issue ('https://www.macrumors.com/2022/09/22/apple-releases-ios-16-0-2/') and other bugs in late September.
Thats totally incorrect. I use SwiftKey and STILL get asked multiple times, even after that incremental update.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)