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Apple's predictive text curbs vulgar, sensitive, drug-related phrases

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Apple's predictive text curbs vulgar, sensitive, drug-related phrases

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An undisclosed multilingual list restricts iPhone autocomplete and swipe-typing suggestions for thousands of words and phrases, including politically sensitive terms

Apple’s iOS keyboard reportedly restricts autocomplete and swipe-typing suggestions for nearly 100,000 words and phrases, including politically sensitive expressions. | Image: Bloomberg

Reuters 5 min read Last Updated : Nov 06 2026 | 10:55 PM IST

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.

The list is not a ban. iPhone users can still type what they like when drafting emails and texts. But the words on the list will not be suggested to users via autocomplete or swipe-typing in most cases, opening a window into how Apple manages the tradeoff between preventing its devices from offering offensive or politically charged suggestions to users and anticipating what they are trying to say.

The flagged words and phrases are overwhelmingly vulgar or offensive or related to drugs, sex or violence, according to independent researcher Derik Kauffman, who discovered the list recently. But other phrases are just politically salient, like “dictator Trump” and “sleepy Joe”.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide use iPhones, so Apple’s choices about which words its keyboard suggests could quietly shape how they communicate. Apple has not publicly disclosed the list, the researcher said.

In an email, Apple did not comment directly on Kauffman’s findings, including the size or composition of its list, or its reasons for flagging certain political terms.


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