RunLocalTools

Clipboard Auto-Purger — Copy a Password, Then Wipe It Automatically

Copy a password or API key, start a countdown, and have your clipboard wiped when it ends. Detects secret types, verifies before clearing. 100% in your browser.

What it does

Clipboard Auto-Purger copies a secret to your clipboard and then empties the clipboard for you when a countdown ends. You paste a password, token, card number or recovery phrase into the field, press Copy & start countdown, and use the secret wherever you need it. When the timer reaches zero, the tool clears the clipboard so the secret isn’t sitting there for the next app, browser extension or shared screen to find.

You can also start from something you copied elsewhere — press Use what’s on my clipboard after copying from your password manager and the same countdown begins, without typing anything.

How it works

Everything happens in your browser tab. The tool uses your browser’s own clipboard API to write and (with your permission) read the clipboard, and it never sends anything to a server. The secret is kept in memory only, is never saved to browser storage, and is dropped from the field and from memory the moment the wipe finishes.

A few techniques make it more than a plain timer:

  • Deadline-based countdown. The timer stores an end time rather than counting ticks, so a tab that the browser slows down in the background still ends on time.
  • Verify before wiping. If you allow clipboard-read permission (one click on Enable verification), the tool checks that the clipboard still holds your secret before clearing it. If you’ve copied something else in the meantime, it leaves your new copy alone and logs “Skipped — you copied something else”. After clearing it reads the clipboard again to confirm the secret is really gone.
  • Secret-type detection. Locally, the tool recognises private-key blocks, JWTs, AWS, GitHub, Stripe, Slack, Google, SendGrid, npm and Hugging Face style keys, connection strings with passwords, card numbers (checked with the Luhn algorithm), US-style Social Security numbers, 12- or 24-word recovery phrases, hex keys and generic passwords or high-entropy tokens. It then suggests a shorter countdown for the riskier types. It’s a heuristic to help you choose a timer, not a guarantee.
  • Wipe-on-return. Browsers only allow a page to clear the clipboard while its tab is focused. If the countdown ends while you’re in another app, the tool shows a “return to this tab” state and finishes the wipe the instant you come back.
  • Fallback copy method. If the modern clipboard API is blocked, it falls back to the older copy command.

If your browser won’t let the tool check the clipboard first, it clears unconditionally and marks the log entry “couldn’t verify” so you always know which case you got.

How to use it

  1. Paste or type the secret into the field, or copy it in your password manager and press Use what’s on my clipboard.
  2. Choose a countdown: 10, 20, 30, 60 or 120 seconds, or any value from 3 to 600. Leave Pick the timer by secret type on to let the tool suggest one.
  3. Press Copy & start countdown and paste the secret where you need it.
  4. Watch the ring, or the countdown in the browser tab title. Use +30 s if you need more time, Wipe now to finish early, or Stop, keep clipboard to cancel.
  5. When it finishes, check the session log for the outcome. Press Alt+Shift+X (⌥⇧X on a Mac) at any time to wipe the clipboard and clear the field instantly.

Optional settings: Watch for secrets when I return to this tab (starts a countdown automatically when it spots a secret on your clipboard), a beep when the wipe finishes, and a best-effort wipe when you close or reload the page.

Privacy

The secret you enter never leaves your device and is never stored. Only your timer preferences are remembered in your browser. The session log records the type, length and outcome of each countdown, never the secret itself, and it disappears when you close the tab. If you’d rather not leave a secret in a text field at all, generate it with the password generator and copy it straight from there, or use the token generator for API-style keys, then start the countdown here. If you need to share a snippet that contains secrets, run it through the sensitive data masker first so nothing needs pasting in the clear.

Limitations worth knowing

  • Focus matters. A page can clear the clipboard only while its tab is in focus, so the wipe may wait until you return to the tab.
  • Other clipboard copies. The tool clears this browser’s clipboard. Windows clipboard history (Win+V), cloud clipboard sync, Apple’s Universal Clipboard and third-party clipboard managers keep their own copies. Turn those off or clear them separately for anything sensitive.
  • Verification is browser-dependent. Silent clipboard reading is available in Chromium-based browsers after you grant permission. Firefox and Safari clear without checking first.
  • Screen sharing and screenshots. Wiping the clipboard doesn’t hide a secret you’ve revealed on screen. Keep the field masked unless you need to see it.

FAQ

Does this store or send my password anywhere?

No. The secret stays in this tab’s memory and is removed from memory and from the field when the wipe finishes. Nothing is uploaded, and nothing is written to browser storage except your timer preferences.

Why did the wipe wait instead of running when the timer hit zero?

Browsers only allow a page to change the clipboard while it has focus. If you were in another app or tab when time ran out, the tool waits and finishes the wipe the moment you return. The status changes to “waiting” and the tab title shows a reminder so you know it’s pending.

What does “Verify before wiping” do?

It reads the clipboard just before clearing and only wipes if it still holds your secret. That stops the tool from destroying something you copied afterwards. It needs clipboard-read permission, which you can grant with the Enable verification button. Without it, the tool clears unconditionally and says so in the log.

Does it clear Windows clipboard history or Universal Clipboard?

No. A web page can only clear the browser’s own clipboard. Clipboard history features and cloud-synced clipboards keep separate copies that you need to clear or disable in your system settings.

Which browsers does it work in?

Any current browser can copy and clear. Verification and the “watch for secrets” option need silent clipboard reading, which Chromium-based browsers offer after permission is granted. In other browsers the wipe still works but can’t check first.

Can it tell what kind of secret I copied?

It recognises common formats such as API keys, JWTs, private-key blocks, card numbers and recovery phrases using pattern matching that runs entirely on your device. It uses the result only to suggest a countdown length, and it can miss unusual formats, so you can always set the timer yourself.