A method of controlling a clipboard and an electronic device for performing the method are provided. The electronic device includes a display; a volatile memory including a first storage area configured to store a clipboard including existing data; an input interface; and at least one processor communicably coupled to the display, the volatile memory, and the input interface, the at least one processor being configured to: detect a read access to the existing data included in the clipboard by an application; determine whether the existing data includes personal information; and based on determining that the existing data includes the personal information, determine whether to allow the read access to the existing data by the application, based on a user input provided through the input interface.