iOS 13 release has been one of the most buggy updates in a while now. iPhone users who updated, faced major problems in general performance of their devices. To fix the issues, Apple preponed the release of the major update iOS 13.1 by days. However, the issues appear to have not been dealt with completely: Apple in a support article revealed that versions of iOS 13 (including iOS 13.1) suffer from security issues pertaining to keyboards.
iPhone users running iOS 13 or iOS 13.1 and iPad users on iPadOS are advised not to install any third-party keyboards. According to Apple, the latest versions of iOS and iPadOS give full-access to keyboard apps without the user’s consent. The third-party keyboards app could potentially gain access to user’s data without having been authorized.
Privacy issues
The third-party keyboards could possibly send the data to the internet (keyboard’s servers if they exist) without the user’s consent. But what kind of data could the keyboard be transmitting without the user’s consent? We do not know for sure at the moment but its being assumed that whatever the users type (each and every keystroke) could be accessible by the keyboard makers.
Usually apps like Google’s Gboard, Microsoft’s SwiftKey and other keyboard apps require full-access to make the keyboard run properly and to its fullest. If you are the kind of person who gives full access usually, well then there’s nothing to worry about. However, if you take privacy seriously then you should consider switching to Apple’s default keyboard which now offers swipe functionality and also is being considered as the best in the industry. The auto-correct and word prediction on the new Apple keyboard appear to be of top-notch quality.
So, if you haven’t updated from iOS 12 yet, it would be better to stick to it until Apple releases iOS 13.2 which promises better stability.
