Looking for How To Clear Clipboard On Android & Tablet? This post will cover various tips and tricks for Clearing Clipboard On Android and also how to delete copied items.
Cut, copy, and paste are the basic functionality of any operating system. Android is not so different. It will temporarily save in a clipboard for further usage when you cut or copy any text.
For the most part, the clipboard only holds one item at a time and replaces it immediately with the new one. For single usage, it is sufficient and can fulfill the purpose. But some people need more than that. Using multiple items from the clipboard is a very handy tool and saves lots of time.
How to use copy and paste on Android?
Before we deep dive into how to clear the clipboard on Android, let’s see how to use copy and paste on Android. It’s a very simple and easy thing to do on Android. If you are an Android user, you may already know it. But for those who have never used an Android before, this section might help.
First of all, long-press on a word you want to copy and use the handlebars to select the desired length or you can select all from the floating menu. Tap on cut or copy from the floating menu and it is ready. You may not find the ‘cut’ option everywhere unless you are cutting it from an editable document.
‘Cut’ will delete the text from the document whereas ‘copy’ does not change anything. But both will save the text on the clipboard.
Now, go to your desired section where you want to paste it. Long-press and select a word, use the handlebar to adjust the length, and tap on Paste from the floating menu. You may see an option called ‘Paste as plain text.’ This will paste the text without the formatting.
Sometimes you may find the whole text selected. In this case, press a single tap and it will deselect the text (Ex. Google Chrome address bar). Now, long-press and paste your copied text.
Quick Tips for Android Clipboard
By default, the Android operating system only allows one bit of text to be occupied on the clipboard. This means Android will replace the old copied item with the new one. If you want to paste the text, paste it before copying a new one.
As I have said earlier, the clipboard is a temporary place to hold texts, turning off your phone will clear the clipboard on Android.
If you want to cut any text, the document must be editable. You cannot cut text from a web page unless it’s in editable form. But you can easily cut, copy, and paste on a messaging app.
When you read articles you might see links to different places. You can easily copy those links by simply long-press the links and tapping on ‘Copy link address’ from the floating menu. This technic works on most apps.
Copying text and copying files are both different than others. On Android, copied text can be used anywhere systemwide. But copied files can be used or pasted within the app or the file manager. You can not copy a file from one app and paste it through another app. Android doesn’t work that way. So, keep that in mind.
Manage Your Clipboard
Stock Android does not have a built-in clipboard management app pre-installed. As I have said earlier, Android stores only one bit of text on the clipboard, the only way to know what’s on the clipboard is by long-pressing and pasting it on a document or text field.
Without a third-party app, clipboard management is not natively possible. Talking about the third-party app, Google’s default Android keyboard called Gboard has this functionality to manage the clipboard.
1/ Using Gboard
If you use Gboard, you can enable the clipboard from the Gboard settings.
Once enabled, Gboard will start tracking everything you copy. On the clipboard of Gboard, you will see snippets of your copied items. Tap on your desired snippet to instantly paste it into the current text field.
Gboard will hold these snippets for one hour before they automatically clear the clipboard on Android. But you can pin them if you want them to use further. You can also delete them manually by long-pressing the snippets and tapping on delete.
A cool feature called Gboard smart suggestion suggests your recently copied text in the top bar. This helps you to paste your copied texts without long-pressing or entering the clipboard manager. This is why I like to use Gboard.
If you are not using Gboard, give this a shot by downloading the app from the link below.
Download GBoard Keyboard
2/ For Samsung And Other Devices
Smartphone manufacturing companies like Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi use their custom UI on top of the Android operating system. This type of approach lets the Android looks different than each other. They use their custom apps and ergonomics to match their desired look and feel.
That’s why those Android smartphones look very different from the stock vanilla Android.
Using custom apps, they all use their custom keyboard. For example, Samsung uses its custom-designed keyboard to increase its functionalities.
When you use a Samsung device, you will see a Clipboard bubble when long-pressing on a text or a text field. If you don’t see it, tap on the three-vertical-dots menu to see more options.
On the Samsung keyboard, an arrow or three dots (depending on the version) on the right side of the keyboard allows you to access additional functions. Tap on Clipboard and you will see your recently copied items.
The Clipboard functionality may or may not match with other manufacturers. In this case, I would recommend checking the documentation of your specific phone.
How To Clear Clipboard On Android?
As Android only stores one bit of text, it is easy to clear the clipboard on Android by copying another bit of text. For example, copying a space will erase the last copied text. This is useful if you have copied any sensitive information like passwords, or credit card information.
Another way is to use the Gboard to clear the clipboard on Android. Here are the simple ways to answer – How To Clear Clipboard On Android.
- Go to the clipboard area, long-press any copied items,
- Select all, hit the delete button,
- And clear the clipboard.
Other custom Android versions may have a similar option available when you open the clipboard manager. Just select everything and delete them to clear the clipboard on Android.
But if you want more functionality and a built-in clipboard manager, we have a great keyboard for you. You can easily use its built-in options to manage or clear the clipboard on Android.
SwiftKey – A Keyboard With a Clipboard Manager
If you don’t want to use Gboard or your phone doesn’t have it pre-installed, you can try SwiftKey. It’s a versatile keyboard with lots of functionality including a clipboard manager.
It is one of the best Android Keyboard available in the market with a good prediction algorithm. It has a great clipboard manager too.
Managing the SwiftKey Clipboard Manager is similar to GBoard and Samsung. Tap the arrow icon from the keyboard ribbon and you will see the Clipboard icon. Click on it and you will see everything you’ve copied.
SwiftKey automatically clears a text an hour after you copy it. SwiftKey will not delete any snippets if you pin them to stay as long as you want. To clear or remove any snippets one by one, swipe them to the left or right.
Tap the manage button to manage your clipboard more easily clear the clipboard on Android from the settings. You can download SwiftKey from the link below and get your answer on how to Clear the Clipboard On Android.
Download SwiftKey Keyboard
Conclusion
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you are using GBoard or other keyboards. The basic built-in Android clipboard gets the job done most of the time. And almost all modern keyboards have some sort of clipboard management functionality built-in.
So, if you use GBoard, Samsung Keyboard, or SwiftKey, you can manage your clipboard either way. But if you want some other functionality than Clipboard Management, third-party keyboards will come in handy.