[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-iphone-keyboard-skips-auto-complete-for-a-hidden-gray-list":10,"sections":45},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":34,"tags":35,"sources":40,"feedback":44,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":44,"total_tokens":44},12569,"iphone-keyboard-skips-auto-complete-for-a-hidden-gray-list","iPhone Keyboard Skips Auto-Complete for a Hidden Gray List","Researchers found iOS withholds auto-complete and swipe typing for certain political and drug terms, and Apple has not addressed the list itself.","Type \"sleepy Joe\", \"dictator Trump\" or \"Tibetan independence\" on an iPhone and you get no auto-complete suggestions and no swipe typing, because iOS appears to carry a hidden \"gray list\" of terms.\n\nResearcher Derek Kauffman found the list, and an independent cybersecurity engineer verified it. It is thought to hold at least 100,000 words and phrases. Other reported entries include \"NSA spies\", \"question your sexuality\" and \"Australia is a very bad place\". References to drug use also seem to be unavailable through both features.\n\nThe restriction is narrow. You can still type any of these phrases and send them in a message. iOS just won't offer to finish them or let you swipe them out. In an email, Apple did not comment on the list directly, but it acknowledged that the keyboard is set up to avoid suggestions that might be inappropriate or offensive.\n\nThat explanation fits some entries better than others. Keeping crude language out of suggestions is a familiar choice for keyboard makers. A phrase like \"Tibetan independence\" or \"NSA spies\" is a harder fit for the word \"offensive\", and the mix of political, sexual and drug-related entries is what makes the list worth a second look.\n\nKauffman's concern is scale. \"It's a very light-touch form of censorship,\" he said. \"But at the scale that Apple is operating, it only takes a light touch to have a big impact.\" David Greene of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said he could see the thinking behind a gray list, but that users should be well aware of it and able to customize it.\n\nThere is a recent precedent for distrust here. iPhones were reported to change \"Trump\" to \"racist\" during dictation, and what happened was not clear at the time. That was speech-to-text, a different system from typed suggestions, but both show how much unseen automation sits between a person and the words on their screen. The open question is whether Apple will say what is on this list and give users the control Greene describes.","[\"apple\",\"ios\",\"censorship\",\"privacy\"]","2026-11-08T11:30:00.000Z","2026-11-08T12:19:16.535Z","2026-11-08T12:19:16.896Z","published",null,[24,30],{"id":25,"reviewer":26,"round":27,"reason":28,"status":29},"editor-r1","editor",1,"Remove or support the claims the source doesn't back: the 'loosely maintained blocklist' characterization, the 'slur' example, and the flat statement that the list is 'not user-editable' (the source only says Greene wants users to be able to customize it). Also name Reuters, instead of 'a news agency', as the outlet that reported the finding and received Apple's email.","resolved",{"id":31,"reviewer":26,"round":32,"reason":33,"status":29},"editor-r2",2,"Remove or soften claims the source doesn't support: 'Apple has published no criteria' and 'nobody can say what rule produced this mix' are unsourced, and 'it was never clear exactly what happened' with the Trump\u002F'racist' dictation episode overstates the source's 'wasn't clear' (Apple blamed a speech-recognition bug). Also hedge the headline's '100,000-Plus', since the source says only that the list is 'thought' to hold at least 100,000 entries.","consumer-tech",[36,37,38,39],"apple","ios","censorship","privacy",[41],{"name":42,"url":43},"TechRadar","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.techradar.com\u002Fphones\u002Fios\u002Fa-very-light-touch-form-of-censorship-the-iphone-has-a-gray-list-of-words-and-phrases-that-apple-wont-auto-complete-for-you",0,{"sections":46},[47,52,57,62,67,71,76,81,86,91,96,101,106,111],{"name":48,"slug":49,"count":50,"latest_published_at":51},"AI","ai",7110,"2026-11-08T14:34:09.000Z",{"name":53,"slug":54,"count":55,"latest_published_at":56},"Security","security",1099,"2026-11-08T15:24:01.000Z",{"name":58,"slug":59,"count":60,"latest_published_at":61},"Deals","deals",620,"2026-11-08T08:00:00.000Z",{"name":63,"slug":64,"count":65,"latest_published_at":66},"Policy","policy",604,"2026-11-07T15:48:26.000Z",{"name":68,"slug":34,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Consumer Tech",336,"2026-11-08T21:00:00.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Hardware","hardware",316,"2026-11-08T14:36:39.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Science","science",222,"2026-11-07T16:19:17.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Software","software",154,"2026-11-08T15:42:52.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"Startups","startups",150,"2026-11-06T16:50:01.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",125,"2026-11-06T22:15:59.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"General","general",111,"2026-11-08T21:27:29.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"Gaming","gaming",94,"2026-11-08T20:52:05.000Z",{"name":107,"slug":108,"count":109,"latest_published_at":110},"Reviews","reviews",38,"2026-10-20T12:00:00.000Z",{"name":112,"slug":113,"count":114,"latest_published_at":115},"How-To","how-to",8,"2026-10-05T09:00:00.000Z"]