How to force clean the clipboard on Windows 10

We’ve covered quite a few utilities for the clipboard; some that can log the content of the clipboard and others that offer a clipboard history that is stored locally instead of in the cloud. In all instances, we always advise that you never copy sensitive data to the clipboard and clear it right away if you do. The go-to method to clear sensitive data is to copy something else to it and it’s not too hard to do. If you’re looking to force clean the clipboard, you can also use a simple batch file or a command-line command instead.

Force clean the clipboard

Open Command Prompt and run the following command. It will clear everything from the clipboard whether it’s a file or text.

cmd /c "echo off | clip"

You don’t need admin rights to run the command so a Command Prompt window with normal user rights will do.

To use a batch script, open a new Notepad file and paste the same command given above. Save it with the BAT file extension. That’s all you have to do. Any time you want to clear the clipboard, double-click the file to run the script and everything from the clipboard will be cleared.

You can set up a keyboard shortcut to run the script if you often need to clear the clipboard content.

This method isn’t as simple as copying something else to the clipboard but often, you may not want to have to copy anything to it or you may not have something on hand that can be copied. In either case, this is a simple solution.

Using a batch script to force clear clipboard content has an additional advantage; automation. The script can be used in a scheduled task or any other automation app that you use. Batch files are basic and most, if not all, automation apps support them. The script can be used to clean the clipboard at any time as part of a task.

Clipboard content doesn’t normally save after a system restart but if you tend to leave your system logged in and allow it to enter sleep instead of shutting it down, a quick clean-up of the clipboard at the end of the day is probably a good idea. Remember that this will clean the clipboard but any app that may be logging clipboard entries will still be able to log an item since it has already been copied to the clipboard. If you did copy sensitive data to the clipboard, clean it but also remove it from any tool that might have logged it.

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Fatima Wahab

Fatima has been writing for AddictiveTips for six years. She began as a junior writer and has been working as the Editor in Chief since 2014. Fatima gets an adrenaline rush from figuring out how technology works, and how to manipulate it. A well-designed app, something that solves a common everyday problem and looks

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