How to quickly clear clipboard history in Windows 11 – 5 easy methods

Table of Contents
Clipboard history in Windows 11 lets you see and reuse things you've copied, like text, images, or files. While this can be helpful, it also means your private or sensitive data might stay saved in the background. If you're sharing your computer with someone or just want a clean clipboard, clearing the history is a good idea.
Thankfully, Windows 11 offers plenty of ways to clear the clipboard history within minutes. So if you’re currently confused about how you can remove everything from the history, we’ve got you covered right here with several methods.
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How to clear clipboard history in Windows 11
Here are a handful of methods that can help you quickly clear the clipboard history.
Step
Clear clipboard history using the clipboard panel
If you've been copying a lot of text or images and want to clean up your clipboard history, Windows 11 gives you a quick way to do it through a special clipboard panel, which shows you a list of everything you've recently copied.
- First, press Windows + V on your keyboard. This will open the clipboard panel, a small window showing a list of recent items you’ve copied.
- Next, in the top-right corner, you’ll see a button labeled ‘Clear all.’
Clear All button - Click the button to remove everything from your clipboard history.
- If you only want to delete one specific item from the list, click the three vertical dots (⋮) next to it, and then click the trash bin icon that appears.
Trash icon
Here’s a quick video explaining the first method:
Step
Clear clipboard history through Windows Settings
Windows 11 allows you to clear clipboard history through the Settings app as well. Here’s how:
- Press the Windows + I keys on your keyboard. This will open the Settings window.
- On the left side of the screen, click on System to open more options.
System - Scroll through the list and click on Clipboard to open clipboard settings.
- Look for a section labeled Clear clipboard data. There, you will see a Clear button. Click it to remove everything stored in your clipboard history.
Clear button
Step
Clear clipboard history using desktop shortcut
If you regularly want to clear your clipboard without opening menus or pressing multiple keys, creating a desktop shortcut can save you time. This shortcut will let you clear the clipboard with a simple double-click.
- On your desktop, right-click anywhere on a blank space. From the menu that appears, select New, then click Shortcut.
Create shortcut - A window will pop up asking for the shortcut's location. Type or paste this exact line into the box: cmd /c echo off. | clip
Creating shortcut - Click Next, then give your shortcut a name. You can call it something like Clear Clipboard so it's easy to recognize later.
- Click Finish, and the shortcut will appear on your desktop with a command icon.
Clear clipboard shortcut - Now, any time you want to clear your clipboard, just double-click this shortcut.
Step
Clear clipboard history using the Command Prompt
Command Prompt can help you clear the clipboard history using commands. This might sound complicated, but it’s a pretty simple task. Here’s what you need to do:
- Click the Start button and type cmd in the search bar.
- Right-click on Command Prompt from the results, and select ‘Run as administrator.’
- In the Command Prompt window, copy and paste the following line: echo.|clip
Command Prompt - Press Enter to run the command. This clears everything that was stored in the clipboard.
Step
Disable clipboard history entirely
If you're concerned about privacy or just don't want your computer to remember what you've copied, you can completely turn off clipboard history.
- Open Settings by pressing the Windows + I keys on your keyboard.
- From the left menu, click on System, then scroll down and choose Clipboard.
- In the Clipboard settings window, find the section labeled Clipboard history.
- You'll see a toggle switch next to it. Switch it from On to Off.
Disable clipboard