What the app stores

Short answer: copied plain text, links, RTF or HTML with a plain-text fallback, direct PNG or TIFF image data, and references to Finder files or folders are kept in a local SQLite database.

The default history limit is 1,000 items and can be changed from 100 to 10,000 in Settings. Starred clips and clips placed in a group are kept until you remove them. Text, rich-text, and image payloads are bounded by the configurable clipboard-item size limit; image preview thumbnails are separately bounded.

Copied Finder files are saved by reference. The app remembers the file location and a small preview thumbnail; it does not duplicate a large file into its database.

~/Library/Containers/app.clipboard-history/Data/Library/Application Support/Clipboard History/clipboard.sqlite

Current releases use the macOS app sandbox and migrate history from the older unsandboxed Application Support location during update.

What the app skips

Clipboard History ignores copies made while 1Password, Bitwarden, Dashlane, KeePassXC, Apple Passwords, Keychain Access, or LastPass is frontmost. You can add other applications to the skip list in Settings → Privacy.

It also honors concealed, transient, and automatically generated clipboard markers used by compatible password managers and privacy-conscious apps. An item marked that way by its source app is not recorded, even when the app is not on the built-in list.

No clipboard manager can identify every secret from its text alone. Ordinary, unmarked content from an app outside the skip list may be recorded. Add sensitive source apps to the skip list or pause recording before copying anything private.

What leaves your Mac

Your clipboard history is not uploaded or synced. The Mac app has no account system and no product telemetry. It connects for its software update check so it can find signed releases.

The homepage uses Plausible for aggregate, cookie-free traffic measurement. The website also offers optional Google Analytics across its pages. Google Analytics is not loaded and receives no data until you select Allow analytics. If allowed, it uses first-party _ga cookies and measures pages viewed, referral source, approximate region, browser and device information, scrolling, outbound links, and download clicks. It never receives clipboard contents or data from the Mac app. Google explains how it uses information from sites that use its services.

Your choice is stored locally in your browser. You can withdraw consent and remove the analytics cookies at any time.

Your controls

  • Pause recording: choose Pause Recording from the menu bar. The app stays paused across restarts until you resume.
  • Clear history: open Settings → Storage → Clear all history.
  • Remove stored data: quit and uninstall the app, then remove its sandbox-container data if you want a complete removal.

For exact removal steps, follow the Clipboard History uninstall guide.