SwiftKey update lets you copy and paste text between your phone and laptop

The app has introduced a cloud clipboard feature that's long been available to Galaxy S21 owners.

Update, Nov 2 (7:39 a.m. ET): SwiftKey clipboard syncing rolls out to everyone following its beta testing

What you need to know

• Microsoft's SwiftKey Beta app has picked up a new update for its clipboard feature.
• The new capability lets you sync your clipboard history across your Android phone and Windows PC.
• The feature retains your collection of copied texts only for an hour.

Microsoft's SwiftKey Beta app has added a new capability that allows you to sync your Android phone's clipboard with your Windows PC. The new feature has rolled out as part of the latest update to one of the best keyboard apps for Android.

Cloud clipboard syncing can help you save time for text entry, and it comes in handy especially if you're in the habit of switching between your PC and mobile device. With SwiftKey Beta version 7.8.5.3, duplicating your copied text across all your devices can feel like a breeze.

If you want to try it out, you must have the latest version of SwiftKey Beta and sign in to your Microsoft account (it won't work with your Microsoft work email account or Gmail). To enable the feature on the best Android phones, you can simply head over to the app's settings, tap "Rich input," and choose "Clipboard". Then, you can toggle the option to "sync clipboard history to the cloud". The same feature has long been available to Samsung Galaxy S20 and S21 owners through the Your Phone app.

In addition, it's important to enable the feature on your Windows PC by opening the Settings and clicking the Clipboard section. From there, you must turn on the "Clipboard history" and "Sync across devices" options. To view your copied text, you can press the Windows key and V at the same time.

The feature retains your clipboard history only for an hour (except for pinned texts) and only the last copied clip will appear on the prediction bar in the SwiftKey app. If you're worried about your privacy, Microsoft noted that your clipboard data is encrypted and won't be linked to your Microsoft account. You can download the updated SwiftKey Beta from the Play Store and give it a try, although there's no word yet about its stable channel release.

Update, Nov 2 (7:39 a.m. ET) ― SwiftKey clipboard syncing is now available to everyone

Following its beta testing in August, the SwiftKey Keyboard app's clipboard history syncing has rolled out to everyone.

The latest update to Microsoft's keyboard app allows you to copy and paste text between your Android phone and Windows laptop. It's available on Windows 10 devices running the October 2018 update or later as well as Windows 11, as per MSPoweruser.

You'll have to manually turn on the feature, though, as it's not enabled by default. To do that, you can head over to SwiftKey's Settings menu, go to "Rich input," and then choose "Clipboard." You'll see the option to toggle "Sync Clipboard history."

On your Windows laptop, simply open the Settings menu and then find Clipboard under the System section. From there, you can turn on the clipboard history option.

Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard

Free at Google Play Store

SwiftKey is one of the best keyboard apps you can download from the Play Store that's designed to speed up your typing. The keyboard app learns your way of typing to match your unique style, and now it syncs your clipboard history across your Android phone and Windows laptop.