Android 12 set to ‘copy’ this useful privacy feature from iOS 14

Last year, Apple the latest version of its iOS operating system, with several new privacy-friendly features in tow. One of these features was a clipboard access alert system, that would “snitch” on any apps (like TikTok and LinkedIn) that copied from the system clipboard in the background. According to a recent feature leak, it appears that Google will be bringing the same functionality to Android 12 later this year.

Read more: Android 12 leak shows tons of new features: Here are the details

In what only be termed as a copy-paste manoeuvre, the Android maker might be bringing a slightly toned-down version of the clipboard access notification that came on iOS 14, according to a massive leak of Android features courtesy of XDA. Unlike iOS 14, which puts the information about which app has accessed your clipboard at the top of you screen, the Android 12 leak shows it appearing as a small “toast” notification on the lower half of the screen.

While this is always subject to change, it shows how Google has also silently acknowledged that background access to the clipboard can be a dangerous thing. This isn’t the first clipboard related security improvement from Android though, as of Android 10 which was released in 2019, third party apps access to the clipboard was completely off once they were in the background.

Also read: After TikTok, now LinkedIn is snooping on iOS Users through Clipboard

In other news, Google might also be bringing one very useful privacy improvement from iOS 14 to Android. According to XDA, Google will likely be copying another vital privacy feature from Apple -- the ability to share “approximate” location instead of precise location with third party apps. The company is likely to release Android 12 in September this year, which is expected to arrive for Pixel devices first, and followed by other Android devices over the course of next year.