PasteGuard masks API keys, passwords, emails, card numbers and more on your Mac's clipboard the moment you copy, so every paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Slack or a terminal is safe. An optional Apple Intelligence check on your Mac catches what rules miss. For what only you know, add custom rules, import CSV word lists or keep an Ignore list. Restore puts the real values back. No permissions, no account, nothing leaves your Mac.
I built PasteGuard after catching myself pasting a production config — database URL, credentials and all — into an AI chat.
The idea is simple: keep sensitive data out of AI chats without changing how you copy and paste.
PasteGuard checks your clipboard locally and replaces sensitive values with placeholders like [API_KEY_1] the moment you copy. So whether you paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Slack or a support ticket, the original secrets stay on your Mac.
When you need the original values back, press ⌃⌘R to restore them from the placeholders.
• Works across apps, no Accessibility permission required
• Fully local: originals stay in an encrypted vault on your Mac
• Ignore or Mark As when detection gets something wrong
• Pro: custom detection rules and CSV word lists
It's free to download. I'd love to hear what it misses, what it flags incorrectly, or what would make it more useful in your daily workflow!
does it catch keys inside a bigger paste like a whole .env file, or mostly single copied values?
This solves one of those small security risks that's easy to overlook when switching between AI tools all day. Congratulations!
the ignore list matters almost as much as the detection here
clipboard tools get frustrating fast if ordinary copying turns into a cleanup job every time
Half the time I copy a key, it's because I'm pasting it somewhere it belongs, like a Vercel env var or a .env file. How does that work here? Do I hit restore every time, or can I tell it certain apps and sites get the real value? Also wondering about clipboard managers: if one saves the original before you mask it, is the secret safe in the paste but still sitting in my history?
Appreciate the clear explanation of what happens when an AI changes a placeholder. Making any unrestored placeholders obvious before copying the reply would help avoid a confusing result.
congrats on the launch!!!
masking on the way out is the easier half, i think. the model answers talking about EMAIL_1 and DB_PASSWORD_2 and then, i'm the one sitting there mapping it back, which is usually where i give up and stop using the tool.
does restore work on text i copy out of the chat? not matching what i sent, but finding the placeholders inside a reply and swapping them back.
About PasteGuard for Mac on Product Hunt
“Keep secrets and personal data out of AI chats”
PasteGuard for Mac launched on Product Hunt on November 4th, 2026 and earned 71 upvotes and 15 comments, placing #23 on the daily leaderboard. PasteGuard masks API keys, passwords, emails, card numbers and more on your Mac's clipboard the moment you copy, so every paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Slack or a terminal is safe. An optional Apple Intelligence check on your Mac catches what rules miss. For what only you know, add custom rules, import CSV word lists or keep an Ignore list. Restore puts the real values back. No permissions, no account, nothing leaves your Mac.
PasteGuard for Mac was featured in Productivity (664.7k followers) and Menu Bar Apps (12.3k followers) on Product Hunt. Together, these topics include over 179.2k products, making this a competitive space to launch in.
Who hunted PasteGuard for Mac?
PasteGuard for Mac was hunted by Nguyen Quan. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
Want to see how PasteGuard for Mac stacked up against nearby launches in real time? Check out the live launch dashboard for upvote speed charts, proximity comparisons, and more analytics.
Nguyen Quan
Hi Product Hunt 👋
I built PasteGuard after catching myself pasting a production config — database URL, credentials and all — into an AI chat.
The idea is simple: keep sensitive data out of AI chats without changing how you copy and paste.
PasteGuard checks your clipboard locally and replaces sensitive values with placeholders like [API_KEY_1] the moment you copy. So whether you paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Slack or a support ticket, the original secrets stay on your Mac.
When you need the original values back, press ⌃⌘R to restore them from the placeholders.
• Works across apps, no Accessibility permission required
• Fully local: originals stay in an encrypted vault on your Mac
• Ignore or Mark As when detection gets something wrong
• Pro: custom detection rules and CSV word lists
It's free to download. I'd love to hear what it misses, what it flags incorrectly, or what would make it more useful in your daily workflow!