tldr
- copying an image in safari copies the url and image (and other browsers just copy the image)
- this results in weird behavior on a lot of websites
- i have a fix with a menubar app
- source code https://github.com/evening/copyfix
- download: https://f.emily.systems/copyfix.app.zip
- follow this guide to run it https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/open-a-mac-app-from-an-unknown-developer-mh40616/mac
i actually think safari is such a good browser. there’s so many things that annoy me with it, but i still think it’s the best. one thing that actually made me switch away from it was copying and pasting images:
whenever you copy and paste an image, it pasts the image and the url. this results in:
- chatgpt pasting the image and url (mildly annoying)
- websites like cosmos.so posting your image twice (somewhat annoying)
- twitter treating your paste as a camera emoji (?????)
why is this happening?
you can see what’s on your clipboard using this clipboard inspector tool. in chrome and firefox, copying an image stores a text/html value and the image. safari includes those as well, including a text/uri-list and text/plain
fix
super easy fix, just download this small menubar app. i didn’t notarize the app, so you’ll have to manually approve it
it just repeatedly checks your clipboard on a timer if there’s an public.tiff and public.url. if there’s both, it removes the url. source code is available since clipboards are sensitive
i tried getting the clipboard to get in that state when i didn’t copy an image, but i couldn’t figure out a way. so i don’t think this breaks any flows
i was a little worried this was too janky, but every example i found used the same timer approach. you need a proper app since browser the browser copy event doesn’t get triggered when you copy an image through the context menu
battery usage seems to be negligible (activity monitor gives it an “energy impact” of 0.0-0.1 (i dont know if that means anything since there are no units))
now i can say goodbye to arc :)