Clipboard on iPhone: where it is and how to see it

Where is the clipboard on my iPhone?

The clipboard is not an app, a setting or a folder. It is a small piece of the iPhone’s memory that holds whatever you copied last: some text, a link, a photo. When you copy something new, the old item is replaced.

That is why you cannot find it in Settings or in Files. To see it, you paste it.

How to see what is on your clipboard

1. Open Notes and start a new note.
2. Touch and hold the empty page.
3. Tap Paste. Whatever is on the clipboard appears.

Any text box works the same way: Messages, a search bar, an email. Delete the note when you are done.

See the clipboard with one tap, using Shortcuts

The Shortcuts app, already on your iPhone, can show the clipboard without pasting it anywhere:

1. Open Shortcuts and tap +.
2. Add the action Get Clipboard.
3. Add the action Quick Look under it.
4. Name it Show Clipboard and tap Done.

Run it from the Shortcuts app, from a Home Screen widget, or by saying “Hey Siri, Show Clipboard”.

How to copy and paste on iPhone

1. Touch and hold a word until it is highlighted.
2. Drag the handles to cover all the text you want.
3. Tap Copy.
4. Touch and hold where it should go, then tap Paste.

There are gestures too, with three fingers:

• Pinch in with three fingers to copy.
• Pinch in twice to cut.
• Spread three fingers apart to paste.
• Swipe left with three fingers to undo.

You can also copy text from a photo: touch and hold the words in the picture, and tap Copy. It works the same way on iPad.

The “Allow Paste” message

When an app wants to read something you copied in another app, the iPhone asks first. To stop the question for one app, open Settings, find the app, and set Paste from Other Apps to Allow. Set it to Deny for any app you would rather keep out.

Clipboard history on iPhone

The iPhone keeps no history. Copy something new and the last item is gone for good, and nothing can bring it back. iOS also does not let apps watch the clipboard in the background, so clipboard apps on the iPhone work by asking you to save each copy into them yourself.

If you need several things at once, write them into one note and copy from there. Clipboard history on every device →

How to clear the clipboard on iPhone

There is no clear button. Copy something harmless instead, like a single space, and it replaces what was there. Do it after copying a password or a card number.

Copy on iPhone, paste on Mac

Universal Clipboard sends your copy to a Mac or iPad nearby. Copy on the iPhone, then paste on the Mac with ⌘+V a moment later. It needs:

• The same Apple Account on both devices.
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched on, and the devices close together.
• Handoff on: on the iPhone in Settings › General › AirPlay & Continuity (AirPlay & Handoff on older versions), and on the Mac in System Settings › General › AirDrop & Handoff.

Universal Clipboard is for Apple devices only. A Windows PC cannot receive it.

On your Mac or PC, ten clipboards

Once the text reaches your computer, you can keep far more than one copy. ClipTen puts ten clipboards on your number keys, on Mac and Windows: ⌘+C+1 saves into slot 1, ⌘+V+1 pastes it back, and they stay through restarts. Slots 1–5 are free. How to copy and paste on Mac →

Last checked October 2026.