Is it safe to allow Full Access for a keyboard on iPhone?

What Full Access switches on

Every third-party keyboard on iPhone runs in a sandbox, a walled-off space with limited permissions. Apple's developer documentation says the default sandbox blocks network access and stops the keyboard from writing to space it shares with its own app, although it may read from it. A keyboard can only go beyond that if its developer requests open access and you turn on the Allow Full Access switch for it in Settings.

With Full Access on, Apple lists what changes. The keyboard can use Location Services and Contacts with your permission, share a container with its app, send keystrokes and other input events to a server for processing, use iCloud to keep its settings and autocorrect word list up to date across your devices, and take part in Game Center and In-App Purchase through its app. Apple's own summary is blunt: when users enable it, they know their keystrokes are available to the keyboard developer.

What stays protected when it is off

Apple's documentation is just as clear about the other side. With Full Access off, users know that keystrokes go only to the app currently using the keyboard, and the system guarantees it. Apple tells developers that a keyboard without open access cannot send keystrokes back to their server or anywhere else, and recommends a non-networked keyboard for anyone who only needs normal keyboard functions.

Some fields never reach a third-party keyboard at all. Apple's developer guide explains that in secure text fields, the ones that show dots while you type a password, iPhone temporarily replaces any custom keyboard with the system keyboard. It does the same for phone number pads, such as the number fields in Contacts. The custom keyboard returns at the next ordinary text field.

Why some keyboards ask for it

The usual reason is a feature that runs on a server. Apple gives touch-event processing and input prediction as examples of what developers can do with keystroke data sent to their servers, and describes autocorrect word lists that add names of people, places and current events from network data. Apple also tells developers who use this that they must not store keystroke or voice data beyond the time needed to return text to the user or to provide features they explain to the user.

Apple's App Review Guidelines set a floor for every keyboard in the App Store. Section 4.4.1 says keyboard extensions must remain functional without full network access and without requiring full access, must provide a way to move to the next keyboard, must not launch other apps besides Settings, and may collect user activity only to enhance the keyboard's own functionality on the device. So a keyboard from the App Store should still type with Full Access off. What you give up are the extras that needed it.

How to check and change it

1. Open the Settings app and go to General, Keyboard, Keyboards. Apple's iPhone User Guide uses this list for adding, removing and reordering keyboards.
2. Tap a third-party keyboard's name. If it requests open access, its Allow Full Access switch is there; turn it off if you do not need the features behind it.
3. To remove a keyboard nobody uses, swipe left on it in the Keyboards list and tap Delete.

Android handles this differently. Google's Gboard Help lists on-screen keyboards under Settings, System, Keyboard, On-screen keyboard, and when you turn on a new keyboard, Android shows a warning that the input method may be able to collect all the text you type, including personal data like passwords and credit card numbers, and names the app it comes from. That wording comes from Android's own open-source settings code.

Common mistakes

Saying yes during setup without asking why. If a keyboard asks for Full Access, find the feature that needs it. Apple's guidelines require the basic keyboard to work without it, so refusing should not leave you unable to type.

Assuming the keyboard sees passwords. On iPhone, secure password fields switch to the system keyboard regardless of Full Access, according to Apple's developer documentation. Messages, notes and searches do go through whichever keyboard is active, which is why the switch still matters.

Mixing it up with Full Keyboard Access. Full Keyboard Access is a different iPhone feature under Settings, Accessibility, Keyboards and Typing. Apple describes it as a way to control iPhone with a physical keyboard using shortcuts instead of the touchscreen. It has nothing to do with third-party keyboard permissions.

Leaving unused keyboards installed. A keyboard nobody uses still appears in the switcher, and a stray tap can bring it up. Remove the ones you do not need from the Keyboards list.

Choosing a keyboard for someone else

When the keyboard is for a parent or grandparent, the simplest rule is to pick one that works fully without Full Access, then confirm the switch is off before you hand the phone back. They are less likely to revisit the setting later, so the choice you make during setup tends to stay.

GrandKeys, a big-key keyboard for older adults, is built that way. It does not ask for Full Access, makes no network requests, and keeps only its settings, never what is typed.

Frequently asked questions