Privacy policy
ClipSpan is a clipboard history app for Android, Linux, and Windows. On Android,
one install (com.clipspan.app) includes the companion UI and ClipSpan Keyboard.
This page covers the public website, tester signup, and the apps testers install.
Questions about the product can go to contact@clipspan.com.
What this site collects
If you use the tester signup form, we collect:
- Your email address
- Platform preferences you select
- Whether you want to test now
- How you heard about ClipSpan, if you choose to say
- Any optional notes you write
- Basic technical metadata from the form provider, such as submission time
We use this only to contact you about ClipSpan development, testing, and related product updates you asked for.
What we do not do with signup data
- We do not sell your email address
- We do not share it with advertisers
- We do not ask you to create a ClipSpan account just to join the waitlist
Form delivery
Form submissions are delivered by Formspree. Review Formspree's privacy terms for how they handle that data.
Analytics
If analytics or server logs are added later, they will be used to understand aggregate traffic, such as whether a referral source sent visitors. They will not be used to build advertising profiles. This policy will be updated when analytics are added.
What ClipSpan does with your data
Clipboard history lives on each device. Pairing on your LAN sends clips between devices you accept. ClipSpan does not require an account. Local QR pairing is the default and does not contact ClipSpan Cloud.
If you sign in, the account uses ClipSpan Cloud (api.clipspan.com / relay.clipspan.com). The account server stores your email, device names and platforms, and encrypted vault or relay payloads. Servers do not receive clipboard plaintext. Vault contents are encrypted on the device before upload.
ClipSpan does not sell clipboard contents, keystrokes, or account data. There is no advertising SDK in the apps.
ClipSpan Keyboard
Android shows a system warning when you enable a keyboard because an input method can see text in the focused field. That is how any third-party keyboard works.
ClipSpan Keyboard uses that access to type, to offer history paste, and to record clips you copy or send. It does not send what you type to ClipSpan servers. Keystrokes stay on the device unless you copy them or send a clip, and then sync that clip to a paired device or an encrypted vault you chose to use. You can turn the keyboard off in Android Settings → System → Keyboard at any time.
Clipboard, pairing, and diagnostics
- History, pins, hidden items, and Recently removed are stored on the device.
- LAN sync uses a pairing secret you scan or enter. Do not share pairing QR codes or tokens.
- Automatic sync can include text and multimedia you copy, subject to your size and Sensitive clips settings.
- Sensitive clips (passwords and other copies an app marks as sensitive) sync to your other devices by default, encrypted on the way like every clip. Each device shows them as dots in History and deletes them after Remove after (5 minutes unless you change it). Until then they are stored in History on each device, which is not encrypted on disk. Settings > Sensitive clips can keep them on one device or not keep them at all.
- Diagnostics and bug reports omit clipboard contents, tokens, pairing secrets, and passwords. Network details such as a LAN address are included only if you opt in.
Optional account and relay
When account mode is on:
| Data | What the server can see |
|---|---|
| Account email | Yes, as your sign-in identity |
| Device registry (name, platform, public key, status) | Yes |
| Vault and relay payloads | Encrypted bytes only |
| Routing metadata (IDs, expiry, sizes) | Yes |
| Clipboard plaintext | No |
| Sign-in key derived from your password | Received at sign-in, stored only as a hash |
| Account password, recovery key, device private keys | No |
ClipSpan's servers never receive your account password. When you sign in, the app derives a key from your password on your device and sends that key instead. The server stores only a hash of it. The same password encrypts your vault backup on your device, and ClipSpan's servers can't read the backup.
Use a strong password. The server holds values derived from it, so a weak password could be guessed.
Resetting the account password without the old password or recovery key starts a new empty vault.
What we do not collect
- Advertising identifiers or analytics SDKs
- Precise location
- Contacts, photos, or files except clipboard or share content you send through ClipSpan
- Access to your photo library. The Android app doesn't request the Photos and videos permission. Images reach ClipSpan only when you copy or share them.
- Keystroke logs uploaded to ClipSpan
Bug reports you send from the app are stored as private GitHub issues. Do not paste secrets into them.
Self-hosted account and relay
Self-host with a custom Account API URL. Optional servers store identity and ciphertext, not readable clips. A self-hosted operator can see email, device metadata, and routing sizes on disk. They cannot read vault or relay contents without your password, recovery key, or device keys. With account mode off, clients do not contact the account or relay servers.
Contact and deletion
Email contact@clipspan.com to ask questions, request removal from the tester signup list, or correct your address.
To delete your ClipSpan account, see Delete your account. It lists what is deleted, what is kept, and for how long.
Children
ClipSpan is not directed at children under 13. Do not create an account for a child under 13.
Changes
We may update this policy as the site and product change. The "Last updated" date at the top will change when we do.