Before building Quilon, I tried every clipboard sync app I could find — from industry giants like Pushbullet to Apple-centric tools like Paste and AirDrop. The experience was concerning, especially for anyone handling sensitive data.
1. The Privacy Gap in Cloud Sync
Most clipboard apps, including popular ones like Pushbullet or Join, work by uploading your clipboard contents to their cloud servers. Your passwords, private messages, and API keys are often sitting in a database somewhere.
While some claim "encryption," they often hold the keys themselves. This makes your data vulnerable to data breaches, rogue employees, or government subpoenas.
2. Apple's "Walled Garden" (AirDrop & Universal Clipboard)
AirDrop and Apple's Universal Clipboard are great if you only use Macs and iPhones. But the moment you introduce a Windows workstation or a Linux server into your workflow, the system breaks. Professional workflows aren't limited to one ecosystem, and your tools shouldn't be either.
3. The "Plaintext" Risk of Paste App
Tools like Paste offer a beautiful interface but often rely on iCloud sync without the granular, zero-knowledge controls that developers need. If you're copying sensitive environment variables or customer data, you need to know exactly where that data is going.
"We take your privacy seriously" means nothing if the architecture doesn't enforce it.
What Quilon Does Differently
We built Quilon as a secure alternative to Pushbullet and a cross-platform replacement for AirDrop:
- True End-to-End Encryption: We use AES-256. We literally cannot read your data.
- Cross-Platform Freedom: Sync seamlessly between Windows, iOS, and Android without being locked into one brand.
- Zero-Knowledge Relay: Your data is relayed in real-time via WebSockets, never stored permanently on our servers.
The clipboard is too important — and too sensitive — to compromise on. Quilon doesn't.