Apple Warns About Third-Party Keyboard Issue in iOS 13 and iPadOS, Fix Coming Soon

Apple today released a support document warning users about a security issue affecting third-party keyboards in iOS 13 and iPadOS.

Third-party keyboards can be set to run standalone without access to external services or can request "full access" to provide additional features. A bug in iOS 13 and iPadOS can cause keyboard extensions to be granted full access even if full access hasn't been approved.

keyboardaccessbug
According to Apple, the bug does not affect Apple's built-in keyboards, nor does it impact keyboards that don't make use of full access.

Third-party keyboard extensions in iOS can be designed to run entirely standalone, without access to external services, or they can request "full access" to provide additional features through network access. Apple has discovered a bug in iOS 13 and iPadOS that can result in keyboard extensions being granted full access even if you haven't approved this access.

Apple says that the bug will be fixed in an upcoming software update. Third-party keyboards that you might have installed can be viewed by opening up the Settings app, and then going to General > Keyboard > Keyboards.

iOS users concerned about their data and the access granted to third-party keyboards can mitigate the issue by temporarily uninstalling third-party keyboards.

Related Forum: iOS 13

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
walmart new ornametns

Walmart Black Friday Deals Begin Today With Low Prices on Headphones, TVs, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 7:55 am PST by
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...
best deals green hero

Best Apple Deals of the Week: Early Black Friday Deals Hit AirPods 4, M5 MacBook Pro, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Early Black Friday deals are in full swing this week, with best-ever prices available on AirPods 4, iPhone 17, M5 MacBook Pro, and much more. We're recapping all these deals below and more, also including great sitewide sales at Anker and OWC, plus Woot's popular steep discounts on Apple Watch bands. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and...

Top Rated Comments

Rychiar Avatar
80 months ago
People still have third party keyboards? I forgot that was even a thing years ago.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MagMan1979 Avatar
80 months ago
I always thought add-on keyboards were a bad idea on Android ripe for abuse (proven right over the years), and I have believed this to be an equally bad idea on iOS since the day it was introduced, and once again proven right.

The built-in iOS keyboard is second-to-none for accuracy and ease of use, why some one would want to infect their iOS device with a potentially keystroke-harvesting POS is beyond me.


Apple needs to be split up. They can’t get anything done remotely on time. Half of new iPhone’s features missing. iOS delayed (as is MacOS for years). Then .1 release. Oh sorry we forgot to add security patch. And and and

Too big to manage.

When small and nimble Apple was world class. now it’s just another IBM
Thank god people like you don’t run Apple.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JohnApples Avatar
80 months ago

This has got to be the most bug riddles release I've seen in a while. This version was definitely rushed, and the 13.1 release was equally as rushed for whatever reason. I've seen the Trump Tariffs given as a reason, but either way I'm sure Apple programmers will be happier when 13.1.x or 13.2 is out.
This is fairly buggy. But it’s nothing compared to iOS 11 *shudders*
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SoundJudgment Avatar
80 months ago
Now that Apple has Swipe in their keyboard... Swift-Key can go the way of the Dodo.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deuxani Avatar
80 months ago

People still have third party keyboards? I forgot that was even a thing years ago.

I always thought add-on keyboards were a bad idea on Android ripe for abuse (proven right over the years), and I have believed this to be an equally bad idea on iOS since the day it was introduced, and once again proven right.

The built-in iOS keyboard is second-to-none for accuracy and ease of use, why some one would want to infect their iOS device with a potentially keystroke-harvesting POS is beyond me.
Till iOS 13 I was still using SwiftKey and loved it. You guys might be native English speakers, but for many languages in the rest of the world the default Apple keyboard was/is almost useless. Till iOS 13 my language didn’t even have word prediction, let alone being able to talk in two languages without changing the keyboard (which is very common in my country). SwiftKey had all of that for years, so obviously many people use third party keyboards if Apple is too lazy or just doesn’t prioritise a simple keyboard update for other than the big languages.

But only now I can finally switch. Even though many other people probably still can’t or won’t.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootsWalking Avatar
80 months ago
It's bad enough third-party keyboards get to see everything you type but giving those apps access to network services (intentionally or not) lets them share that data with others. Very smart of Apple to compartmentalize the two and require users to grant network access - unfortunate about the bug which breaks the logic but they found it quick enough. If anything it'll raise awareness of the security issue when you do explicitly grant network access to these keyboard apps.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)