iOS 13 and iPadOS Affected by Third-Party Keyboard Bug, Apple Warns, Says Fix Incoming

Apple says the bug will allow third-party keyboards in gaining “full access” even without permission.

By Gaurav Shukla | Updated: 25 September 2019 10:21 IST

iOS 13 and iPadOS Affected by Third-Party Keyboard Bug, Apple Warns, Says Fix Incoming

Gboard, SwiftKey, and Grammarly are some of the popular third-party keyboards in App Store

Highlights

The bug impacts iOS 13, iOS 13.1, and iPadOS users
It doesn’t affect if you are using the built-in keyboard
Apple says an upcoming software update will fix the issue

Apple is warning users that there is a bug in the iOS 13 and iPadOS involving third-party keyboards. The company has said that it is working on a fix and an upcoming software update will roll it out to iOS and iPadOS users. Apple's advisory comes just after the company released iOS 13.1 and iPadOS updates for the iPhone and iPad users around the world. It is important to note here that the iOS 13 bug only impacts you if you have a third-party keyboard installed on your iPhone or iPad. If you don't have a third-party keyboard installed, you have nothing to worry about.

In an advisory posted on its website, Apple wrote that third-party keyboard apps sometimes request “full access” from the iPhone or iPad users to provide additional features that requires network access. The iPhone maker says that it has identified a bug that will allow these third-party keyboards gain “full access” even without the users approving the access. Given the bug is yet to be fixed and rolled out to the iOS and iPadOS users, the company hasn't shared any technical details on how the third-party keyboard are able to achieve “full access”.

“This issue does not impact Apple's built-in keyboards. It also doesn't impact third-party keyboards that don't make use of full access. The issue will be fixed soon in an upcoming software update,” Apple wrote.

If you use one of the popular third-party keyboards like Gboard or SwiftKey or Grammarly, chances are that you would have already approved a “full access” request. So, unless you are purposely avoiding giving “full access,” you have nothing to worry about. If you don't want a third-party keyboard to have “full access,” you should delete it from your device until Apple releases a fix for the bug. This goes without saying that you should normally stay away from untrustworthy apps, including third-party keyboards from unknown developers.

You can find installed third-party keyboards on your iPhone or iPad by opening the Settings app and then going to General > Keyboard > Keyboards.

As mentioned, Apple will soon release a fix for this bug, most likely as a part of the iOS 13.2 release and the next iPadOS version.

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