Clip: A clipboard manager for iPads – only in the EU outside the App Store
Apple does not allow real clipboard managers on iPhones and iPads. Clip comes close and now supports iPadOS, even if Apple has been stalling again.
(Image: Riley Testut)
The clipboard manager "Clip" is now designed for the iPad. The tool is only available in the alternative app store "AltStore PAL" and therefore only within the EU, where the Digital Markets Act enforces such distribution channels. Since the current version 18, iPadOS must also support app marketplaces other than just the App Store. In addition to the iPad adaptation, version 1.2 of Clip provides another useful function in the form of an iOS or iPadOS keyboard, which makes it easier to paste previously copied content.
No fully-fledged clipboard manager possible for iOS
Apps that permanently monitor the clipboard in the background are not intended for iOS and iPadOS. Accordingly, there are no fully-fledged clipboard managers yet. With several workarounds, Clip can continue to monitor changes in the clipboard and then displays a message. If the user swipes it down, this saves the copied content in the background in Clip – without having to leave the app currently in use. This makes Clip much closer to a real clipboard manager than any other tool in this category available for iOS / iPadOS. To make this possible, Clip uses the operating system's location services, among other things, and is therefore not allowed in the App Store.
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Clip 1.2 was also initially unable to appear outside the App Store because Apple refused notarization, as developer Riley Testut notes. Even with alternative distribution channels, Apple checks every iOS and iPadOS app before releasing it, and the company does not actually want to intervene in terms of content. It took almost two weeks before the update was finally approved.
Apple integrates Clipboard Manager into macOS 26
Clip was originally subject to a fee, as was AltStore PAL. The alternative app marketplace is now free, including Clip. However, downloading the clipboard manager requires following the Patreon account of developer and AltStore operator Riley Testut.
Apple itself has never included a clipboard manager with its operating systems, but this is surprisingly changing with macOS 26 Tahoe, which will be released in the fall. Content stored in the clipboard can be found and reused to a limited extent via the new Spotlight search. This useful functional extension has not been announced for iPadOS 26 and iOS 26.
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