Apple's predictive text restrictions include 'Dictator Trump' and 'Sleepy Joe,' researcher finds
The hidden blocklist includes about 100,000 entries and political phrases, while Apple says users can still type them manually.
- On Friday, researcher Derik Kauffman revealed that Apple maintains a hidden grey list of about 100,000 words and phrases that its iOS keyboard blocks from autocomplete and swipe-typing, though users can still manually type the terms.
- Kauffman discovered the list in September using AI tools to investigate why his swipe-typing stuttered over certain phrases. He found the compendium stored deep in Apple's operating system, containing terms overwhelmingly related to vulgarity, sex, drugs, or violence.
- Phrases like "right wing conspiracy," "Tibetan independence," "Modi braggart," and "occupied territories" are excluded, according to Kauffman. He noted inconsistencies: "read smut" could be swipe-typed while "read gay smut" could not.
- David Greene, senior counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, called the secret list "creepy" and argued users should customize these filters. In an email, Apple did not comment directly on Kauffman's findings regarding list size or composition.
- Hundreds of millions of iPhone users worldwide rely on this keyboard, meaning hidden filters quietly shape human communication. Kauffman described the filtering as "a very light-touch form of censorship" comparable to Google's autocomplete controversies.
29 Articles
29 Articles
Apple's Predictive Text Blocks 'Dictator Trump' and 'Sleepy Joe,' Researcher Finds
Apple has a hidden list of words and phrases that its iOS keyboard won’t suggest through autocomplete or swipe typing, according to researcher Derik Kauffman. This list is not a complete ban, as users can still type any words they want, but it limits suggestions to avoid offensive or politically sensitive content. Apple’s decision on […]
From ‘Dictator Trump’ to ‘bad boy’: Inside Apple’s secret list of 100,000 words your iPhone won't autofill
The list, described as a digital 'grey list', reportedly contains nearly 100,000 words and their variations, although it does not prevent users from manually typing them in messages, emails or other applications.
Apple's predictive text restrictions include 'Dictator Trump' and 'Sleepy Joe,' researcher finds
Apple has an undisclosed multilingual gray list of tens of thousands of words and phrases that its iOS keyboard will not autocomplete or swipe-type, a researcher said on Friday.
NEW - Researcher finds an undisclosed Apple "gray list" covering 100,000 words and phrases, including "Sleepy Joe," "Dictator Trump," and "Auschwitz."
NEW - Researcher finds an undisclosed Apple "gray list" covering 100,000 words and phrases, including "Sleepy Joe," "Dictator Trump," and "Auschwitz. "Read here:
The iPhone keyboard keeps an undisclosed list of approximately 100,000 words and expressions that do not appear in the auto-fill suggestions or in the gesture typing tool. The mechanism, identified by an independent researcher, includes from words and references to drugs and violence to expressions with political content, such as Trump and Joe Sleepy.
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