Apple’s autocomplete restrictions include ‘Dictator Trump’ and ‘Sleepy Joe,’ researcher finds

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 has said. | REUTERS

Reuters

Nov 7, 2026

Washington – 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. The researcher, Derik Kauffman, said the find opens a window into how Apple manages the tradeoff between anticipating what hundreds of millions of iPhone users are trying to say and preventing the devices from offering offensive or politically charged suggestions to users — something he said could quietly shape how they communicate.

“It’s a very light-touch form of censorship,” said Kauffman. “But at the scale that Apple is operating, it only takes a light touch to have a big impact.”

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