tl;dr
Full Access is the iOS switch that lets Auri Keyboard use the network. With it off you can still type, but the six writing tools, non-English keyboard packs, the Apple Watch relay, and dictation stop working. Your logins are protected either way: iOS swaps in Apple's keyboard for password and PIN fields, so no third-party keyboard sees them. Below are the five questions that decide whether a keyboard is private, each answered for Auri.
What Full Access unlocks
iOS runs custom keyboards in a sandbox with no network access. Full Access lifts that restriction, which is why every keyboard with cloud AI asks for it during setup and why iOS shows a warning when you tap the switch. You can turn it off at any time under Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards, without deleting the app; the setup guide covers granting it the first time.
Whether to grant it comes down to five questions: what leaves the device, who processes it, what stops working if you refuse, what the vendor says about your data, and what happens in password fields. Here are Auri Keyboard's answers.
What leaves your iPhone, feature by feature
Two kinds of data can travel from a keyboard: the audio you dictate and the text a tool processes. With Auri Keyboard, everything that leaves the phone goes to Auri Cloud for processing. What leaves depends on the feature:
| What you use | What leaves the phone |
|---|---|
| Plain typing, autocorrect, swipe | Nothing |
| Dictation on a cloud engine (Ultrafast, Legacy, Azura, Supernova, Wizper) | Your audio |
| Dictation on the On-Device engine | Nothing; audio is transcribed on the phone, English only |
| Clean, Concise, or Professional output mode | The transcript, sent for cleanup |
| The six writing tools (Help Me Write, Continue, Fix Grammar, Paraphrase, Translate, Reply to Email) | The draft or selection you run them on |
Two rows need a note. The default engine, Ultrafast, streams audio to Auri Cloud while you speak. The On-Device engine transcribes on the phone after a one-time download of about 460 MB, and it covers English only; set any other language and the app shows an “English Required” alert.
Output modes are the other split. Raw, the default, types the transcript as recognized and sends nothing beyond what the engine already received. The in-app caption says it in one line: “Raw keeps the transcript as-is. Other modes send it to Auri Cloud for cleanup.” What cleanup buys you:
You said: "we ship Tuesday, sorry, Wednesday"
Auri typed (Clean mode): "We ship Wednesday."
Hold the keyboard mic to switch output modes.
What stops when Full Access is off
With Full Access off, Auri still works as a keyboard: typing, autocorrect, swipe typing, emoji, and the bundled English pack. Four things stop:
- All six writing tools.
- Keyboard language packs beyond the bundled English one.
- The Apple Watch relay.
- Dictation. That includes the On-Device engine: it keeps your audio on the phone, but the app does not support dictation without Full Access.
What Auri says about your data
Auri's Full Access screen states its commitment in its own words: “I'm privacy-first by design – I can't access password or credit card fields, and I don't collect any data you type.” The first half is iOS enforcing a rule; the second half is Auri's stated policy on the text you type.
A sentence on a permission screen is not the whole story for any app, so read the privacy policy for the full commitments, including retention and how account data is handled. Save the link the day you install any keyboard. Features get added quietly, and a link you already have makes the next check a two-minute job.
Passwords and card fields
When you tap a password or PIN field, iOS replaces Auri with Apple's keyboard, so no third-party keyboard receives those keystrokes. Payment fields are covered app by app: many apps mark card fields as secure, but iOS does not force them to. The password-fields guide covers the mechanism field by field, and how password managers fill secure fields anyway.
Claims that deserve a second look
Some privacy copy is written to sound reassuring without committing to anything. Pause on these, from any vendor:
- “We never see what you type” from an app whose rewrite features clearly need your text.
- No policy link in the App Store listing or in onboarding.
- “Private” or “secure” with no mention of where processing happens.
- Rewrite features with no named provider anywhere in the documentation.
- No instructions for revoking Full Access.
None of these prove bad behavior. They mean the vendor has not committed to anything you could check.
A ten-minute audit you can repeat
Run this once per keyboard, then again after any update that adds AI buttons.
- Read the Full Access screen and the privacy policy on install day.
- Tap into a password field and confirm the system keyboard appears.
- Check the settings for an on-device option and note which features it covers. In Auri that is the On-Device engine under Settings > KEYBOARD > Keyboard Dictation > Recognition, English only.
- Turn Full Access off, type a paragraph, and list what breaks.
- Turn it back on only if that list contains features you use.
- Delete keyboards you stopped using; a dormant keyboard keeps its permissions.
Write the result in one line somewhere you will find it. For Auri that could read: Raw output, Ultrafast engine, writing tools on, policy link saved.
FAQ
Does Full Access mean the keyboard sees everything I type?
A keyboard extension receives the text of the fields it serves; that is how any keyboard works. Full Access adds the network. Auri's stated policy on that text is on its Full Access screen: “I don't collect any data you type.” The privacy policy carries the full terms.
Can I use Auri Keyboard without Full Access?
Yes, as a plain keyboard. Typing, autocorrect, swipe, emoji, and the bundled English pack all work. The six writing tools, other keyboard language packs, the Apple Watch relay, and dictation need Full Access on.
Does On-Device dictation work with Full Access off?
No. Dictation needs Full Access even with the On-Device engine selected. What On-Device changes is where audio goes: it stays on the phone and is transcribed there, in English only.
Why does the keyboard change when I tap a password field?
iOS swaps in Apple's keyboard for any field marked secure, and no third-party keyboard can opt back in. Your keyboard returns on the next normal field. The swap is iOS enforcing the rule, not a bug.
Where do Auri's AI features process my text?
On Auri Cloud. Cloud dictation engines receive your audio, and the Clean, Concise, and Professional output modes and the six writing tools receive the text they process. Plain typing sends nothing anywhere.