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Independent researcher Derik Kauffman found a list encoded in Apple’s operating system that restricts more than 100,000 words and phrases from predictive text. Apple says its keyboard is designed to avoid inappropriate or offensive suggestions, while users can still type the terms themselves.
Independent researcher Derik Kauffman has found a list encoded in Apple’s operating system that restricts more than 100,000 words and phrases from iPhone predictive text. The list includes drug-related and sexual terms, as well as politically sensitive phrases, meaning users may need to type some expressions manually or correct swipe-typing errors.
The list, described in a report by The Guardian, affects words that the keyboard suggests or completes. It can also interfere with swipe typing, where users glide a finger across the keyboard rather than tapping each letter. The report says attempts to swipe-type some phrases can produce different words, including “United Iceland” instead of “United Ireland” and “Tibetan independences” instead of “Tibetan independence.”
Examples identified by Kauffman include “Dictator Trump,” “NSA spies,” and “question your sexuality.” The list also includes references to drugs and sexual acts, and the phrase “iMessage isn’t working.” Politically charged entries cited in the report include “Trayvon Martin,” “Kashmir dispute,” “Muslim extremist” and “male chauvinist pig.” It says the restrictions vary across languages: in Hebrew, the phrase “the occupied territories” is not suggested, while in Arabic “the Hamas movement” is not suggested.
Apple said it designed the keyboard to avoid offering inappropriate or offensive predictive suggestions. The company also said people can still type specific words or phrases and override predictive text to get the wording they want. The report does not say that the terms are blocked from being entered or sent; the restriction described is on keyboard suggestions and completion.
How the List Shapes Keyboard Suggestions
The finding shows that predictive text is not simply a neutral spelling tool drawing on the words a user types. Apple’s keyboard can be shaped by a curated list of restricted terms, affecting both what it offers and how reliably it interprets a swipe across the keyboard. This matters because users may mistake a failed suggestion for a typing error, particularly when writing about politics, identity or sensitive subjects.
The list also raises questions about how technology companies set boundaries for automated language tools. Apple’s stated aim is to avoid inappropriate or offensive suggestions, but the examples reported include names and political phrases, not only profanity or sexual language. Kauffman described the approach to Reuters as a “light-touch form of censorship”; that is his characterization, not a finding that users are prevented from expressing those views.
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From Spelling Checks to Prediction
Early spell-check tools compared words against dictionaries. Later systems used n-grams to estimate likely next words based on surrounding text. Apple’s familiar autocorrect developed from this broader shift toward prediction, and the report notes that it has sometimes become known for replacing profanity with cleaner alternatives.
Apple introduced a new, transformer-based autocorrect system last year, according to The Guardian. The report says some Reddit users at the time speculated that the system might explain unusual spelling suggestions, but does not establish a connection between that change and the grey list. Kauffman’s discovery offers a separate explanation for some cases where certain wording is not suggested: a table of restricted terms is present in the operating system.
“It designed its keyboard to avoid offering inappropriate or offensive predictive suggestions.”
— Apple
What the List Does Not Explain
The report does not establish why each individual term was added, who selected the entries, or how Apple reviews and updates the list. It also does not detail how the restrictions vary across iPhone models, operating-system versions, regions or keyboard settings. The presence of a phrase on the list does not, by itself, show that Apple intended to suppress a particular viewpoint.
One earlier keyboard incident remains separate and unexplained in the report: for a short period, some users saw “Trump” appear when dictating “racist.” Apple quickly remedied that glitch, but the material provided does not explain its cause or link it to the grey list.
Further Details From Apple
The immediate next step is clarification of how Apple maintains the list and whether the company plans to provide more information about its contents. The report does not identify a scheduled update, review or response beyond Apple’s explanation of its keyboard design and its reminder that users can enter terms manually.
For now, the confirmed practical point is limited: some wording may not appear in predictive suggestions or may be harder to enter accurately with a swipe. Users can tap out the words and correct suggestions, while the list’s selection criteria and update process remain undisclosed.
Key Questions
What is Apple’s grey list?
It is a list encoded in Apple’s operating system that, according to researcher Derik Kauffman, restricts more than 100,000 words and phrases from predictive-text suggestions or completion.
Does the list stop users from typing those words?
No. Apple said users can type specific words themselves and override predictive suggestions. The reported restriction concerns what the keyboard offers or completes.
What kinds of phrases are included?
The examples reported include drug and sexual terms, political expressions, names and phrases in different languages, such as “Kashmir dispute” and “the occupied territories.”
Why does Apple restrict these suggestions?
Apple said its keyboard is designed to avoid inappropriate or offensive suggestions. The company has not explained the selection criteria for individual entries, according to the report.
Can the list cause swipe-typing mistakes?
Yes, the report says swipe-typing attempts can produce unintended alternatives when a phrase is not suggested, including “United Iceland” for “United Ireland.”
Source: theguardian.com
