How to View Clipboard on iPhone & iPad

The clipboard is something that is built into every phone and computer. It holds things that have been copied so that you can paste them elsewhere, whether it’s an address that you need to paste into Maps or a funny meme that you want to share with your friends. But how do you view the clipboard? While it’s not normally accessible, there are some roundabout methods of viewing what’s on your clipboard and, in some cases, editing it.

Jump To:

• Where is the Clipboard on iPhone & iPad?
• How to See Clipboard History
• Use the Notes App to Save Your Clipboard History on iPhone
• Use a Clipboard Shortcut

Where is the Clipboard on iPhone & iPad?

The clipboard is a temporary storage space that is used for copying and pasting things (most commonly text) between applications. Whenever you copy something, it is placed on the clipboard, and when you paste it, it is pulled from the clipboard. Once you copy something else, the previous item is cleared from memory.

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Normally, you cannot access the clipboard itself on iPhone and iPad. However, there are ways to see what is currently on your clipboard and keep a history of it. For more useful iPhone and iPad tips and tricks, be sure to sign up for our Tip of the Day newsletter.

How to See Clipboard History

While there is not a way to see your clipboard history built into iOS or iPadOS, you can use a third-party app to keep a record of your clipboard. Paste is a great app to use for this. It can be downloaded from the App Store for free, but you must pay for a subscription to re-copy old items from your clipboard. Here are the settings you should use if you want to maintain a consistent record of your clipboard:

1. In the Paste app, tap the three dots in the upper right corner of your screen.
   
   
2. Tap Settings.
   
   
3. Tap the toggle next to When App Becomes Active until it turns green.
   
   
4. Whenever you copy something, simply open Paste and tap Allow Paste.
   
   
5. The text or image that you have copied will be pasted into the app and saved to your clipboard history. You can tap and hold any of your previous clipboards to copy them again.
   
   
6. Tap Copy. You will need a subscription to Paste’s premium plan to use this functionality.
   
   
7. Alternatively, when selecting text, you can tap the small arrow button on the far right of the copy/paste menu until you see Share.
   
   
8. Tap Share to bring up the Share Sheet.
   
   
9. Tap Copy to Clipboard History to copy the selected text to the Paste app.
   
   
10. The next time you open the Paste app, you will see the text in your clipboard history.
    
    

Be sure to open Paste any time you want to save a particular clipboard, as the app does not work automatically in the background.

Use the Notes App to Save Your Clipboard History on iPhone

If you don’t want to pay for Paste’s premium subscription, you can use the Notes app instead and save your clipboard history manually.

1. To start, open the Notes app.
   
   
2. Tap the new note button in the bottom right.
   
   
3. For this example, I simply named my note Clipboard, but you can choose any name you like. Tap the cursor to bring up the copy/paste menu.
   
   
4. Tap Paste.
   
   

Any time you want to save something you’ve copied to the clipboard, simply return to this note and paste it in. You will then be able to copy anything you have pasted here without having to pay extra for a subscription, but you will miss out on Paste’s automatic paste feature. You can also conveniently create new Notes from your Lock Screen!

Use a Clipboard Shortcut

Shortcuts is an app that allows you to create super useful automations for your iPhone and iPad. You can create your own shortcuts or add them from the Gallery. Here’s how to use the Adjust Clipboard shortcut to view the clipboard on your iPhone or iPad:

1. In the Shortcuts app, tap Gallery in the lower right corner.
   
   
2. Tap the Search Bar and type in Clipboard.
   
   
3. Scroll until you find the shortcut titled Adjust Clipboard. Tap the plus icon to add it to your shortcuts.
   
   
4. Tap Shortcuts in the lower left.
   
   
5. Tap the Adjust Clipboard shortcut.
   
   
6. In the window that pops up, you can see what is currently on your clipboard and you can make edits if there is a typo.
   
   
7. Tap Done to save your new clipboard.
   
   
8. Tap Allow so that the shortcut can save the changes.
   
   

You can use this shortcut to view and make changes to any text that you copy to your clipboard. Please note that this shortcut does not work with images. If you no longer want to use this shortcut, you can always delete it too. To learn more about how to copy and paste between your Apple devices, be sure to check out our article on Universal Clipboard.