If Apple cares so much about privacy, why does it approve clipboard snoopers?

https://medium.com/@probablygeorge/if-apple-cares-so-much-about-privacy-why-does-it-approve-clipboard-snooping-apps-75552bb9ccca

by georgespencer • 6 years ago

23 16 6 years ago

medium.com

kevsim• 6 years ago

I've said this before on similar posts, but I think most clipboard "snooping" is not nefarious, it's boneheaded. Developers get a requirement like "if the user has a URL in their clip board, give them an option to share it with a single click". Then they do a poor job actually implementing this code by sticking it in some delegate the fires way more often than they think and all of a sudden they're "snooping". Not saying there aren't bad actors, just saying we're maybe blowing it out of proportion.

And kudos to Apple for making this stuff more obvious in iOS 14.

asplake• 6 years ago

And I’ll again ask a question that was misunderstood (my fault): is there a missing API for something common, useful, non-boneheaded and clearly better from a privacy perspective?

bluesign• 6 years ago

For example you can check if clipboard has an URL, and if exists you can use it. Checking part would not trigger privacy alert. Actually it is documented way of doing this.

georgespencer3• 6 years ago

OP here! I believe Apple is badly letting its users down.

The interaction and security paradigms on iOS being better and different to macOS is something Apple invests heavily in marketing. I'm a technically proficient user, but I didn't know that my iOS clipboard was an open book for each app. Basically: I believe that the average user has an increased expectation of privacy on iOS, and Apple does a lot to cultivate that expectation.

My intuitive belief in how it worked (which turned out to be wrong) is probably close to the system I now advocate for Apple to reform to:

0. Apps cannot access clipboard contents by default,

1. UIPasteboard should be pollable for whether the clipboard has contents on it or not,

2. UIPasteboard should be able to return the type of object on the clipboard so that apps don't incorrectly show e.g. an active "Paste" button when the user has a text input field selected and an image is stored on the clipboard,

3. Apps should only be allowed to access the contents of the clipboard when a user invokes a specific action to paste.

4. Apps which wish to prefetch URLs or other predictable strings (e.g. feed-readers and podcast apps) should present a regex-type pattern for the type of string they expect to be on the clipboard, and then Apple should display the URL in the system keyboard (where the predictive text field / SMS code fetch goes atm).

It's crazy to me that Apple is being applauded for sending privacy alerts for a behaviour they have the power to stop.

jshier• 6 years ago

1. It does. numberOfItems will tell you how many items are on the pasteboard.

2. It does. contains(pasteboardTypes: [String]) will tell you whether the pasteboard contains items of particular types.

3. Okay, but that's a huge shift from the status quo and breaks quite a few app workflows, especially conveniences the user expects.

4. Yes, this would be the biggest improvement to fix the disruption caused by 3.

Edit: But even with 4, automatic access would still trigger the new iOS 14 warning, unless Apple turns that off if you've queried for a particular pattern. I don't see that happening. I'm guessing devs will just provide their own approval for this feature so the users aren't surprised when they see the pasteboard access warning.

GeekyBear2• 6 years ago

Every OS that I am aware of gives the foreground app unfettered access to the clipboard. Is anyone aware of any counter example?

Given that Android has even allowed background applications to constantly monitor the contents of the clipboard, I don't feel particularly let down by Apple giving me a way to see which apps are accessing the contents of the clipboard without any user interaction on my part.

ssivark• 6 years ago

My biggest complaint is how apps have permissions to “pull” stuff from the device rather than the user getting to “push” only what they deem necessary. Simple example: why does an app need access to all my photos? When I want to share a photo, clicking the share button inside the app should open up a system dialog for me to pick which photos I want to share — and the app should only ever have access to those!

millerm• 6 years ago

Then you have to deal with the fact that you get a bunch of developers not liking the default implementation that was given to them and complain that they can’t write their own. Everyone starts screaming “walled garden!” and that they’re held back from making ad revenue in someway shape or form.

zimpenfish2• 6 years ago

I think it was a mistake of Apple to allow non-os photo pickers. I've got a big photo library (~100k photos) and custom photo pickers a) take forever to start up, and more importantly, b) mess up the ordering of albums and/or photos which makes it a nightmare to find anything.

spdustin• 6 years ago

iOS 14 offers exactly this feature.

Nextgrid• 6 years ago

For photos only. What about contacts?

zimpenfish2• 6 years ago

When I want to share a photo, clicking the share button inside the app should open up a system dialog for me to pick which photos I want to share — and the app should only ever have access to those!

That's how it seems to be working in iOS 14 - you get asked if you want to "select more photos" or "keep current selection" and afaict, it looks to the app like your photo library is only those photo you've selected for that app. e.g if I pick "keep current selection" in WhatsApp, it currently only sees one photo in the Recents album, nothing in anything else.

GeekyBear2• 6 years ago

The WWDC '20 video on this feature.

Meet the new Photos picker

Let people select photos and videos to use in your app without requiring full Photo Library access. Discover how the PHPicker API for iOS and Mac Catalyst ensures privacy while providing your app the features you need.

https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10652

vr46• 6 years ago

There’s sometimes a trade-off between privacy and utility and Apple are very good at making tough decisions on users’ behalf. Not perfect, but very good. Clipboard “snooping” could be anywhere between enthusiastic developers providing utility to ZOMG THE DEEP STATE IS SPYING ON ME, and the original article is a bit breathless and eager to stick it to Apple. There are a limited number of Access All Areas passes doled out by iOS and that number is shrinking.

If Apple cares so much about privacy, why does it approve clipboard snoopers?

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