Apple's predictive text restrictions include 'Dictator Trump' and 'Sleepy Joe,' researcher finds
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.
Apple maintains an undisclosed collection of tens of thousands of words and phrases that its iOS keyboard will not suggest during autocomplete or swipe-typing, according to researcher Derik Kauffman. The list, not a ban on words, aims to prevent offensive or politically charged suggestions while anticipating users' intended messages.
The flagged terms largely consist of vulgar, offensive, drug-related, sexually explicit, or violent language. However, politically charged phrases such as "dictator Trump" and "sleepy Joe" also appear on the list. Apple has not publicly disclosed the list's size or composition, but Kauffman estimates it to be around 100,000 entries.
The researcher discovered the list in September while noticing stuttering during swipe-typing. Apple has not commented directly on Kauffman's findings, but it assures users they can still type specific words or phrases and override predictive text suggestions. The list varies across languages, with examples including "Modi braggart" in Hindi and "read gay smut" in English.
Independent verification by engineer Matt Suiche corroborates Kauffman's findings. The existence of such a list has been known to social media users for years, but this is the first comprehensive report. While Apple's actions aim to avoid inappropriate suggestions, inconsistencies in the application of the feature have been noted, such as allowing "read smut" but not "read gay smut."
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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