Mobile Phones > Android > How to Use the Clipboard on Android Phones Explore built-in and third-party options for efficient copying, pasting, and managing clipboard history on Android By Ryan Dube Ryan Dube Writer University of Maine Ryan Dube is a freelance contributor to Lifewire and former Managing Editor of MakeUseOf, senior IT Analyst, and an automation engineer. lifewire’s editorial guidelines Updated on July 30, 2025 In This Article View All In This Article Use Android’s Clipboard Use the Clipper App Clear Clipboard Contents Where the Clipboard Is Located Frequently Asked Questions Close The Download To copy on Android, long-press text and select copy; paste by long-pressing an empty field.Use apps like Gboard or Clipper to view and manage your Android clipboard history. This article explains how to use the clipboard on Android via the built-in tool. It also covers how to access your clipboard history with Gboard and Clipper. You don’t have to use a clipboard manager to use Android’s clipboard. How to Use Android’s Clipboard The clipboard temporarily holds information you’ve copied or cut from a document or web page. When you copy and paste on Android, you use the clipboard. It’s simple: Tap and hold some text until it appears highlighted. Adjust the selection if you want to add or remove items to copy. Then, tap Copy from the pop-up menu. To paste the content elsewhere, tap and hold an empty text field in any app and choose Paste. The clipboard only holds the most recently copied or cut item, so you can’t select from multiple copied items later. To expand copying and cutting capabilities, consider using a third-party app to replace the built-in clipboard. How to Use the Clipper Clipboard Manager The easiest way to access your clipboard history is through a clipboard manager app. Although Clipper Clipboard Manager is very user-friendly, Google Play offers many alternatives. After long-pressing and copying text anywhere on your phone, open Clipper to the Clipboard log to see it. Tap any clipboard snippet to open a menu with more options. You can copy a previous piece of content, open it to view the full contents, pin it at the top of the list, edit it, share it, and more. The sweep button at the top of the app quickly clears all your clipboard clippings. How to Clear Your Android Clipboard If you’re using Clipper, you’ll find a Delete option when you tap one of the clippings. Use this to erase individual clipboard items. Another option is to use the Gboard keyboard available on many newer Android phones. If it’s not pre-installed on yours, you can download Gboard from Google Play. Open any text field to activate the keyboard, then tap the clipboard icon above the keys. If you haven’t used this clipboard before, you’ll receive a prompt to enable the Gboard clipboard. Tap Turn on Clipboard to activate it. With the clipboard enabled, any time you copy text and tap the clipboard icon on the Google Android keyboard, you’ll see a record of all recently copied items. Any copied text is accessible from this section of the keyboard. To remove items, tap the edit icon, select an entry, and choose the trash icon. Your clipboard manager relies primarily on your Android phone’s version and brand. For example, the Samsung Keyboard also offers a clipboard manager. Typically, the keyboard is the main way to access and manage your clipboard without using an additional app. Where Is the Clipboard on an Android Phone? When you save text to the clipboard on an Android phone, the clipboard service stores this data in RAM. On stock Android devices, you can’t access this data directly. On Samsung phones, the clipboard history is stored in a file within the /data/Clipboard directory. FAQ How do I add a website shortcut on Android from the clipboard? To create a home screen shortcut on Android for a website, open the site in Chrome and tap the three dots > Add to Home screen. There’s no need to copy the website address to the clipboard. Where is the clipboard on Instagram for Android? In Instagram comments, tap and hold, then tap Clipboard and choose the content from your clipboard. When posting Instagram Stories, tap the Aa icon, tap and hold the text entry box, then tap Clipboard. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit