Technology

Apple’s iPhone Keyboard Filters Nearly 100,000 Words From Autocomplete

By Livemint

Apple keeps an undisclosed multilingual list of almost 100,000 words and phrases that its iPhone keyboard does not suggest through predictive text, autocorrect, or swipe‑typing, a Reuters report said, citing independent researcher Derik Kauffman. The list, described as a digital “grey list,” contains many vulgar, offensive, or politically sensitive expressions, but it does not stop users from typing them manually. Kauffman found that the list includes English phrases such as “dictator Trump,” “sleepy Joe,” “right wing conspiracy,” “Tibetan independence,” and “United Ireland.” In Hindi, the keyboard reportedly blocks swipe‑typing of “Modi braggart” and “Rahul is Pappu,” while French users cannot swipe‑type “immigration too high” and Hebrew users cannot swipe‑type “occupied territories.” Apple said it has always allowed manual entry of any word and that its keyboard is designed to avoid suggesting language that could be inappropriate or offensive. Kauffman noted inconsistencies in the filtering, such as the keyboard allowing “read smut” but blocking “read gay smut,” and difficulties with “bad boy” and “white man” while “bad girl” and “black man” work normally. He discovered the list after noticing swipe‑typing glitches in September and used AI tools to examine the operating system, ultimately locating the restricted expressions embedded in Apple’s software. Reuters tested a sample of the expressions and found that many were hard to enter via swipe‑typing or were not offered through autocomplete, confirming the existence of the grey list. Apple has not publicly disclosed the list or its contents.