Will downloading an image or text or copying it to my clipboard notify the website in some way?
Yes, resources fetched have timestamps, among other metadata, but copying to clipboard is excluded unless the website listens for clipboard events via JavaScript.
In other words, generally, yes.
Or at least you should assume that to be true if you are worried about it.
If JavaScript listening to clipboard events, or determining which part of the page you’re currently scrolled to, is a threat to you, you should turn off JavaScript (or use reader mode if that is proven to be effective).
Further, if clipboard listening is a threat to you, you should also consider retrieving specific pages/files to be a vulnerability. Websites will know (without JavaScript) which pages/files each visitor retrieves from them.
I suggest retrieving all data and then keeping just what you want.
- Retrieve all pages/files (or as many as possible) from the website at once, either view them in a way that doesn’t tell the website what you’re viewing (maybe reader mode achieves this?) or save all pages/files to disk.
- Select all images/text at once, paste into another app, delete everything except what you want.
The above may be considered a brute force method of achieving information retrieval privacy. There is a technique called private information retrieval.
Only if you allow it permission to do so
Browsers now do not allow websites to access your clipboard without consent from the user.
Download they could tell of course
Can you please elaborate (by words or sources) about browsers forbidding websites to access the clipboard without permission? Or explain how to deny that permission?
This forum shows a popup menu adjacent selected text “Copy Quote.” It works in my browser and I have never given the browser permission to access the clipboard. I also notice other websites stealing clipboard functionality, for instance, web email clients that show a button to copy an email address to the clipboard.
May be relevant:
Further, even if/when a browser blocks access to the contents of the clipboard, websites can track which content on their page is selected and, unless I am incorrect, listen for copy/paste clipboard events.