Do SwiftKey and Gboard Cloud Clipboards Reach Windows?

Microsoft SwiftKey does reach Windows: its Cloud Clipboard syncs text you copy on an Android phone with a Windows PC signed in to the same personal Microsoft account, as long as Windows clipboard history and cross-device sync are on. Gboard doesn't: Google documents its clipboard as a phone-only feature with no Windows sync. If phone text is turning up on your PC and you don't use SwiftKey's Cloud Clipboard, the likely cause is Phone Link's cross-device copy and paste.

SwiftKey Cloud Clipboard: how it reaches Windows

Microsoft's SwiftKey help describes Cloud Clipboard as a way to copy and paste text between SwiftKey on Android and Windows. It needs both sides set up.

On the Android phone

1. Open the Microsoft SwiftKey app.
2. Go to Rich input > Clipboard.
3. Turn on Sync clipboard history to the cloud.
4. Sign in with your Microsoft account.

On the Windows PC

1. Open Settings > System > Clipboard.
2. Turn on Clipboard history.
3. Turn on Clipboard history across your devices (called Sync across devices on Windows 10).
4. Sign in with the same Microsoft account.

Microsoft lists these limits:

• Cloud Clipboard is available only for SwiftKey on Android, not iOS.
• It works only with a personal Microsoft account (Outlook.com or Hotmail.com). Work, Google and other accounts aren't supported.
• Only your last copied clip is kept, and it's available for an hour.
• The help article refers to copied text; it doesn't describe syncing images or files.

SwiftKey's own clipboard on the phone

SwiftKey also keeps a clipboard on the phone, whether or not Cloud Clipboard is on. On Android, unpinned clips expire after 1 hour, and you can pin a clip to keep it. On iOS, the clipboard holds up to 30 clips of up to 1,000 characters each. This list lives in the keyboard and doesn't affect Windows clipboard history.

How to stop SwiftKey syncing to Windows

1. In the SwiftKey app, go to Rich input > Clipboard and turn off Sync clipboard history to the cloud. To pause it briefly instead, tap the Clipboard icon on the SwiftKey toolbar and switch Syncing ON to off.
2. On the PC, turn off Clipboard history across your devices in Settings > System > Clipboard, unless you use it to sync text between Windows PCs. How to disable Windows clipboard cloud sync has the steps.
3. Clear what's already there: delete clips in SwiftKey's clipboard on the phone, and on the PC select Clear under Settings > System > Clipboard > Clear clipboard data.

Gboard: a clipboard that stays on the phone

Gboard's clipboard is a feature of the keyboard on your phone. Google's help says you open the Clipboard section at the top of the keyboard to reuse something you copied, and that the clipboard clears its history shortly after you last use it. Pinned items (touch and hold an item, then tap Pin) aren't cleared.

Google doesn't document any way for Gboard's clipboard to sync with a Windows PC. If you don't want Gboard keeping copies at all, turn its clipboard off in Gboard's settings, and unpin anything sensitive.

Comparing the clipboards

Does Windows clipboard sync upload what you copy? covers the Windows rows in more detail.

How Gboard text can still end up on a PC

Gboard doesn't sync with Windows, but your phone may have another route. Phone Link's Cross-device copy and paste shares the clipboard between supported Android phones and the PC, whichever keyboard you use. Check it in the Phone Link app under Settings > Features > Cross-device copy and paste; the Phone Link clipboard privacy checklist covers it fully.

Find out which route is active

1. On the phone, copy a unique string such as clip-route-test-1 in a notes app.
2. On the PC, paste with Ctrl+V in Notepad and check Win+V.
3. If the string appears, turn off one route at a time (SwiftKey Cloud Clipboard, then Phone Link copy and paste) and repeat with a new string until it stops.
4. Copy a new string on the PC and check the phone keyboard's clipboard to test the other direction.

Sensible defaults

Your own phone and your own PC

Pick one route for moving text, either SwiftKey Cloud Clipboard or Phone Link, and turn the other off. Fewer routes make it easier to know where a copy went.

Shared phones, shared PCs or a shared Microsoft account

Turn off every cloud clipboard route, and clear keyboard clipboards at the end of a session. A shared Microsoft account means SwiftKey can deliver copies to everyone signed in to it; see can shared Microsoft accounts leak your clipboard?

Passwords and codes

Use your password manager's autofill on both devices. Phone keyboard clipboards and Windows clipboard history can both keep a copied password. What sensitive formats should monitors ignore? explains how password managers try to stay out of history.

Work devices

Follow your organisation's policy. A keyboard cloud clipboard isn't a way around a disabled Win+V.

FAQ

Does SwiftKey Cloud Clipboard work with a work account?

No. Microsoft says it only works with a personal Microsoft account (Outlook.com or Hotmail.com).

Does Gboard sync clipboard with a Windows PC?

Google doesn't document any Windows sync for Gboard's clipboard. Phone Link's copy and paste can share the phone's clipboard with a PC regardless of keyboard.

Does SwiftKey Cloud Clipboard work on iPhone?

No. Microsoft lists it as available only for SwiftKey on Android.

Related reading

• Phone Link Clipboard Access: A Privacy Checklist
• Android vs Windows Clipboard History: Key Differences
• How to Share Your Clipboard Between Two Windows PCs
• How to Copy and Paste Between iPhone and a Windows PC

Sources

• How to use Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard to copy and paste text between SwiftKey and Windows (Microsoft Support) — Cloud Clipboard setup, account requirement and limits.
• How does the Clipboard work with Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard (Microsoft Support) — clip expiry on Android and the 30-clip, 1,000-character limits on iOS.
• Copy & paste sections of text with Gboard (Gboard Help) — Gboard's clipboard, pinning and history clearing.
• Seamlessly transfer content between your devices (Microsoft Support) — Phone Link cross-device copy and paste.
• Using the clipboard (Microsoft Support) — Windows clipboard history and sync.

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