Apple Keyboard has a blacklist of phrases you can't swipe
Independent researcher Derik Kauffman discovered that Apple's predictive text and swipe-typing features include a 'grey list' of over 100,000 restricted words and phrases. The list prevents the autocomplete of various terms, ranging from drug references and sexual content to specific political phrases.
Why it matters
This reveals the extent of corporate content moderation embedded within core operating system features, raising questions about algorithmic bias and censorship.
The swipe-type-thwarting list was discovered by the independent researcher Derik Kauffman. The swipe-type-thwarting list was discovered by the independent researcher Derik Kauffman. Apple Struggling to spell ‘male chauvinist pig’? Apple’s grey list means your iPhone won’t help you There are more than 100,000 words and phrases that the tech giant has restricted its predictive text from completing, research shows
Prefer the Guardian on Google “Australia is a very bad place to question your sexuality on MDMA with NSA spies” might be a text you would wish to send to your friends, if you have had an extraordinarily complicated night out in Sydney.
But your iPhone won’t help you spell any of it if you try to swipe-type it – that is, by gliding a finger across a keyboard as opposed to pecking out a word.
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