TurboClipboard Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 1, 2026

TurboClipboard is a privacy-first clipboard manager for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, developed by Epistates, Inc. We believe your clipboard data is personal and sensitive, so we have designed TurboClipboard to keep your data completely private and secure.

Our Privacy Commitment

TurboClipboard does not operate any servers, does not run analytics, and does not sell, share, or monetize your data in any form.

By default, everything TurboClipboard stores stays on the device where it was created. You may optionally enable iCloud sync to mirror your clipboard history across your own Apple devices. When you do, clip contents are encrypted on-device before they ever reach Apple’s servers, and the encryption keys are held in your iCloud Keychain — which is itself end-to-end encrypted. Apple never sees your clipboard contents in plaintext, and neither do we.

✓ Local-first by default
✓ No analytics or tracking
✓ End-to-end encrypted sync (opt-in)
✓ AES-GCM + iCloud Keychain

Data Storage

Your data is stored locally on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, encrypted and secured.

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Clipboard History — Temporary items you have copied (ephemeral items)
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Saved Clips — Clips you have explicitly saved with tags and pins
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Templates — Text templates with variables you have created
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App Settings — Your preferences and configuration
Mac Location
~/Library/Application Support/TurboClipboard/clips.sqlite
iPhone and iPad Location
The app container and shared App Group container used by the app, Share Extension, and Keyboard Extension.
Encryption
Per-row AES-GCM encryption via Apple’s CryptoKit. Keys stored in Keychain (or iCloud Keychain when sync is enabled).
Access
Only accessible by TurboClipboard and you

iCloud Sync (Optional)

TurboClipboard can optionally sync your clipboard history across your Apple devices using Apple’s CloudKit. This feature is opt-in and disabled by default. You can turn it on or off at any time in Settings.

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End-to-end encrypted — Clip contents are encrypted on your device with AES-GCM before being written to CloudKit. Only ciphertext ever leaves your device.
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Private database — Sync uses CloudKit's private database (CKSyncEngine), scoped to your personal iCloud account. Records are not shared with other users or with Epistates.
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Zero knowledge — The AES-GCM key is stored in iCloud Keychain, which Apple protects with its own end-to-end encryption. Apple cannot read this key, and neither can we.
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Per-device control — Mark individual clips as device-only — they will never be uploaded, even with sync enabled.
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Your control — Disable sync at any time. Disabling sync stops future uploads; you may also delete synced data from any of your devices.

Security Measures

Encryption

AES-256-GCM encryption. Keys stored in Keychain.

Secrets Kept Out

Respects password manager standards (ConcealedType, TransientType) and runs an on-device heuristic that recognizes API keys, JWTs, private keys, and bearer tokens. Detected secrets never enter the history.

On-Device AI

Apple Foundation Models framework (macOS 26 Tahoe+). All AI inference runs locally — no external servers or cloud services.

Data We Do NOT Collect

TurboClipboard does not collect, store, or transmit any of the following:

× Analytics or usage statistics
× Crash reports
× Personal information
× Plaintext clipboard contents (never seen by Epistates or Apple)
× Device identifiers
× Location data
× Cookies or tracking data
Note on IP addresses: TurboClipboard does not collect, store, or transmit IP addresses. When iCloud sync is enabled, network traffic flows through Apple’s CloudKit infrastructure, which observes standard network metadata as a consequence of routing. That traffic is governed by Apple’s own privacy practices, not by TurboClipboard.

Network Access

TurboClipboard is offline-only by default. With sync disabled, the app never makes outbound network connections.

The app does not:

  • × Send data to any Epistates-operated server (we run none)
  • × Connect to third-party services
  • × Track your usage
  • × Display advertisements
  • × Auto-update without your permission

The only network activity TurboClipboard may perform: iCloud sync (opt-in — when enabled, the app communicates with Apple’s CloudKit to upload and download encrypted clip records), App Store updates (handled by the operating system and App Store, not by TurboClipboard), and optional Mac CLI installation via Homebrew/GitHub (user-initiated).

Permissions

TurboClipboard requests only the permissions it actually needs. You control these in System Settings on Mac and Settings on iPhone or iPad.

Apple Events Required

Required — for opening URLs and files in their default applications via NSWorkspace (used by Smart Actions).

Accessibility Optional

Optional — required only if you use the Paste Queue feature, which intercepts ⌘V and replays pastes in sequence. Not needed for the main Option+Space hotkey (which uses Carbon RegisterEventHotKey and works without Accessibility).

Notifications Optional

Optional — for smart action success alerts. You can deny this and the app still works fully.

Keyboard Full Access Optional

Optional on iPhone and iPad — used by the TurboClipboard Keyboard to read and decrypt TurboClipboard’s shared library from the App Group container and shared Keychain. The keyboard does not send your typing or clips to Epistates.

Not requested:

Input Monitoring (clipboard detection on Mac uses NSPasteboard.changeCount polling, which needs no special permission), Microphone, Camera, Location, Contacts, Calendars, Bluetooth, or Photos.

Data Retention

Ephemeral Clipboard History

You control how long temporary items are kept:

  • 24 hours (default)
  • 1 week
  • 1 month
  • 3 months
  • Forever

Persistent Clips

Clips you explicitly save with tags or pins are kept forever until you delete them. To clear all Mac data, uninstall and delete ~/Library/Application Support/TurboClipboard/. On iPhone and iPad, delete local data in the app or uninstall TurboClipboard.

Your Rights

✓ Access Mac data in ~/Library/Application Support/TurboClipboard/
✓ Export clips and templates manually
✓ Clear history or uninstall at any time
✓ Disable features (AI, clipboard monitoring, etc.)

Questions About Privacy?

We take privacy seriously and will respond to all privacy inquiries.

Company
Epistates, Inc.

This policy is effective as of May 1, 2026. We will update this page if our practices change.