Apple has a secret list of banned autocomplete phrases including ‘dictator Trump’ and ‘covid is a hoax’

Apple's iOS keyboard is programmed to block a vast array of phrases from being suggested as autocomplete or typed automatically via swipe, according to a researcher's discovery. Over 100,000 words and phrases in every major language have been identified as being on Apple's "banned list." Despite being able to type these words one letter at a time, they typically won't appear as predictive text suggestions and may undergo automatic alterations when swiping, such as "left wing conspiracy" changing to "left wrong conspiracy."

The banned list spans beyond mere insults and political phrases to include offensive slurs and terms related to sex and drugs. However, it also comprises political statements like "illegal immigrant," "dictator Trump," "sleepy Joe," "covid was a hoax," and "left wing conspiracy," alongside less contentious phrases such as "Santa isn't real" and "iMessage isn't working."

Notably, some discrepancies were found in the list, where one phrase is blocked while its opposite is not, exemplified by the blockage of "bad girl" but not "bad boy."

The researcher, Derik Kauffman, utilized OpenAI's Codex and Anthropic's Claude Code to locate the concealed list within iOS's complex system. Kauffman documented the complete list on his website, revealing that the phrase list was originally a hash table, which he was able to revert back into readable text. An independent researcher confirmed the authenticity of the same list.

Apple confirmed to Reuters that its keyboard is designed to prevent potentially inappropriate or offensive suggestions, but users have the ability to type any words they desire or override predictive text suggestions. However, Apple has not yet provided a response to The Verge's request for further comment.