Discovered by researcher Derek Kauffman and verified by Reuters, the graylist prevents Apple's predictive algorithms from automatically offering certain words, though users can still manually type them. While the vast majority of the entries cover vulgarity, violence, drugs, and sex, it secretly restricts political terminology spanning several global regions. Beyond Indian political figures, suppressed entries include phrases like "sleepy Joe," "dictator Trump," "Tibetan independence," and "occupied territories" in Hebrew.
Key points
Apple faces mounting criticism regarding platform transparency due to the hidden global i…: Apple faces mounting criticism regarding platform transparency due to the hidden global influence of its keyboard filtering algorithms.
The undisclosed graylist blocks politically sensitive phrases alongside traditionally res…: The undisclosed graylist blocks politically sensitive phrases alongside traditionally restricted categories like drugs, sex, violence, and vulgarity.
Algorithmic text moderation continues to attract severe public scrutiny and legal challen…: Algorithmic text moderation continues to attract severe public scrutiny and legal challenges across major tech companies, including Google.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
A researcher has discovered an undisclosed multilingual list containing tens of thousands of words and phrases that Apple’s iOS keyboard avoids suggesting through autocomplete and swipe-typing, Reuters reported.
Derek Kauffman, the researcher who uncovered the list, described it as a “very light-touch form of censorship.” However, he cautioned that given the scale of Apple’s operations, “it only takes a light touch to have a big impact.”
The list does not constitute a formal ban. iPhone users can still manually type any words or phrases in their emails and messages. The restriction simply means that, in most cases, the keyboard will not suggest these terms through predictive text or swipe-to-type features.
Which words and phrases are on the list
Most of the flagged words and phrases are vulgar, offensive or related to drugs, sex and violence. However, the list also includes politically sensitive terms such as “dictator Trump” and “sleepy Joe,” referring to US President Donald Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden. Trump has repeatedly mocked Biden as "sleepy Joe."
Other phrases excluded from iOS's predictive text features include “right wing…
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