LinkedIn took advantage of Apple’s Universal Clipboard feature that permits users with multiple Apple devices to repeat and paste content from one device to a different.
LinkedIn Caught in Act
LinkedIn has been caught snooping on iOS’ clipboard. A user of iOS 14 Developer beta has caught the Microsoft app copying contents of the MacBook Pro’s clipboard, courtesy of the Universal Clipboard feature. LinkedIn has acknowledged the difficulty and has assured a fix soon.
DonCubed Twitter Handle Brought Issue
A Twitter user, @DonCubed, posted a video to spotlight the snooping issue. He claims that while he was using LinkedIn on his iPad Pro, the app was copying each keystroke of the clipboard.
The developer was ready to catch hold of the snooping,
because of Apple’s new iOS 14 feature, which notifies the user when an app is accessing the clipboard. The developer further stated that LinkedIn was copying contents from his MacBook Pro while he was accessing the app on his iPad Pro.
How Is this Possible
You may be wondering how it is possible. Apple devices accompany support for Universal Clipboard, a feature that permits users with multiple Apple devices to repeat and paste content from one device to a different. The feature clubbed with iOS 14’s new feature, helped the developer realize the snooping activity.
LinkedIn Taking Responsibility
Erran Berger, who is that the VP Engineering, consumer products at LinkedIn, acknowledged the difficulty and said that the team has traced this activity to a path of the code that does an equality check between the clipboard contents and
therefore the currently typed content during a text box. He further stated that the info is neither stored nor transmitted anywhere.
Berger, within his tweet, assured that the corporate has found a fix which can be live soon within the LinkedIn app.
IOS 14’s Better Privacy Feature
IOS 14’s enhanced privacy feature also exposed video-making app Tik-Tok snooping on the iPhone’s clipboard without the user’s knowledge. The Chinese app reportedly told Apple that it’ll stop accessing the clipboard henceforth.