Clipboard background monitoring

To get copy-and-record behavior, the app needs to keep watching the system clipboard for changes in the background. That is what we mean by clipboard background monitoring.

What background monitoring does

Background monitoring does one thing:

When the system clipboard changes, read the new content once and save it as a clip.

It does not:

• Record your keyboard input
• Capture screenshots or screen recordings
• “Peek” at anything when you have not copied content

In technical terms: listen for clipboard change events → read the current clipboard → write to clip history.

How it runs on each platform (brief)

Depending on platform limits, behavior differs slightly:

• Windows / macOS: After you open the app, it can run in a background process and reliably keep listening for clipboard changes.
• Android: Because of system limits, background monitoring may rely on a foreground service, accessibility, or specific system APIs; you may need extra authorization and configuration.
• iOS: Because of system limits, the app can only listen for clipboard changes while it is in the foreground. We provide Shortcuts and similar tools to help you get closer to copy and record in practice.

In the app, switches such as Sources → Clipboard → enable source or Sources → Clipboard → background monitoring control whether this behavior is on.

Privacy design principles

Background monitoring follows these design principles:

• Minimal necessity: Only the clipboard—not keyboard, screen, or unrelated data
• Local-first: Clips are stored on the device first; whether to upload or sync is your choice
• Visible and controllable: In Settings you can:
  • Turn off or pause background monitoring
  • Clear clip history
  • Exclude specific sources or apps (“do not filter / do not record”)

When to turn off background monitoring

Consider turning it off temporarily if you:

• Are handling highly sensitive data (IDs, passwords, etc.) and do not want it recorded
• Are using a shared or temporary device
• Only need certain features for a short time and do not need long-running recording

You can pause background monitoring or use an app exclusion list so specific scenarios are not recorded.

Next steps