Independent researcher Derik Kauffman discovered that Apple restricts autocomplete suggestions for more than 100,000 words and phrases through what he termed a “grey list” encoded in the company’s operating system. Users attempting to swipe-type these blocked terms often experience errors or must spell them out entirely, as the predictive text system declines to suggest completions.
The restricted vocabulary includes categories Apple describes as inappropriate or offensive, such as references to drugs, sexual acts, and corporate-sensitive phrases like “iMessage isn’t working.” However, the list also contains phrases that appear politically charged, including references to “Trayvon Martin,” “Kashmir dispute,” “Muslim extremist,” and “male chauvinist pig.” Language-specific restrictions exist as well: Hebrew users cannot autocomplete “the occupied territories,” while Arabic users cannot autocomplete “the Hamas movement.”
Kauffman characterized the restrictions as a “light-touch form of censorship” and described discovering the list after noticing inconsistent typing difficulties on his device. Examples of autocomplete failures include phrases like “United Ireland” being changed to “United Iceland” and “Tibetan independence” becoming “Tibetan independences.”
Apple stated that its keyboard design aims to prevent offensive or inappropriate suggestions while maintaining user control. The company noted that iPhone users can always type specific words or phrases manually and override predictive suggestions as needed. The discovery adds to ongoing questions about how autocorrect systems function, building on a history of concerning glitches, including a previous issue where dictation users saw “Trump” displayed when speaking the word “racist.”
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