Samsung Warns Galaxy Users of Clipboard Flaw That Could Expose Passwords
What happened?
Samsung has confirmed that every Galaxy phone running One UI stores anything you copy—including passwords—in plain text inside the system clipboard, and the data never auto-expires. Anyone who picks up an unlocked handset can open the clipboard panel and scroll through a complete history of recently copied items, potentially harvesting log-in credentials, credit-card numbers or private notes.
The issue came to light this week when a user on Samsung’s U.S. community forum asked why “Samsung’s clipboard saves everything in plain text with no expiration.” The post quickly went viral, echoed by frustrated Reddit and XDA threads that claim the company has “refused to fix” the problem for years.
A Samsung moderator acknowledged the risk: “There’s currently no built-in setting to auto-delete clipboard contents after a certain period, which can pose a security risk in some situations.” The company said it would pass the feedback to its software team but did not commit to a release date for a fix.
Why it matters
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Rising password lengths make users more likely to copy–and-paste from password managers rather than type manually.
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Clipboard access requires no extra permission once a phone is unlocked, so friends, co-workers or thieves can scroll through sensitive data in seconds.
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Third-party keyboards can’t help; the clipboard is managed at the system level, so tools like Gboard cannot override Samsung’s retention policy.
Temporary safeguards
Until Samsung rolls out an update, security experts recommend the following:
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Use autofill instead of copy-paste. Most password-manager apps can fill credentials directly into log-in fields without leaving a trace.
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Clear clipboard history manually. Add the “Clipboard” edge panel, open it after pasting, and tap “Clear all.”
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Enable clipboard-access alerts. Go to Settings ▸ Security and Privacy ▸ Controls and alerts and toggle “Alert when clipboard accessed” to spot unwanted snooping.
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Avoid storing passwords in notes. If you must copy sensitive text, clear the clipboard immediately afterward.
What’s next?
Samsung says features such as auto-clear after X minutes and excluding sensitive apps from clipboard history are under consideration, but the company has not shared a timeline. For now, Galaxy owners who rely on copy-and-paste shortcuts will need to change their habits—or risk handing over their entire password vault to anyone with momentary access to their phone.
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