Apple's predictive text restrictions include 'Dictator Trump' and 'Sleepy Joe,' researcher finds

Apple maintains an undisclosed gray list of tens of thousands of words and phrases that its iOS keyboard will not autocomplete or swipe-type, including politically charged terms like 'dictator Trump' and 'sleepy Joe,' researcher Derik Kauffman found. The list is not a ban but prevents suggestions for offensive or politically salient phrases.

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, according to independent researcher Derik Kauffman. The list is not a ban — users can still type what they like — but the words will not be suggested via autocomplete or swipe-typing in most cases. The flagged words are overwhelmingly vulgar or offensive, but also include politically salient phrases like 'dictator Trump' and 'sleepy Joe.' Other excluded phrases include 'right wing conspiracy,' 'Tibetan independence,' and 'United Ireland.' In Hindi, the keyboard blocks swipe-typing 'Modi braggart' and 'Rahul is Pappu.' French speakers cannot swipe-type 'immigration too high,' and Hebrew speakers cannot swipe-type 'occupied territories.' Kauffman said he discovered the list in September using AI tools. Reuters tested a subset and confirmed the restrictions. Apple did not comment directly on the findings but said users can always override predictive text suggestions. The Electronic Frontier Foundation's David Greene called for transparency, saying users should be aware of such features.