What Full Access unlocks
iOS runs custom keyboards in a sandbox with no network by default. 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.
- Off: the keyboard types locally, and anything that needs a server is unavailable.
- On: the keyboard can send requests for rewrite, translation, replies, and cloud voice typing.
- Reversible at any time under Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards, without deleting the app.
The switch is a capability, not a promise about behavior. Two keyboards with identical permissions can handle your text completely differently, and only the documentation tells you which is which.
Why password fields belong to the system keyboard
When focus moves into a password, PIN, or card field, iOS replaces whatever keyboard you had selected with its own. Apps cannot override it, and vendors cannot opt out.
- Secure text fields are marked by the app and handled by the system keyboard.
- Custom keyboards receive nothing from those fields, whatever their permissions.
- Auri does not capture password or card input, and iOS would prevent it regardless.
This is one of the better parts of the platform. If a keyboard ever claims it can autofill or manage your passwords through the keyboard itself, that claim is worth checking hard before you install it.
Where your text goes on iPhone
Two things travel in an AI keyboard, and they travel separately: the audio from voice typing and the text you send to a cleanup feature. A tool can be local on one and remote on the other.
- Voice typing: audio goes to a server, or a downloaded model transcribes on the phone.
- Rewrite, translate, replies: the text of that draft goes to a model, usually in the cloud.
- Plain typing: stays on the device.
- Settings and account data: a separate matter from message content, and policies often cover only one of the two.
For Auri Keyboard, voice typing offers selectable cloud transcription engines on iPhone or On-Device English-only transcription, and the network features require Full Access. On Mac, Auri Voice can keep local transcription and on-device text improvement as the everyday path, with cloud speech engines and bring-your-own-key AI providers available when you choose them.
Five questions a policy should answer
You do not need to read a policy end to end. You need five answers, and a vendor that cannot give them has told you something useful.
- Which features send data off the device, and is audio among them?
- Who processes those requests, including any model provider behind the app?
- How long is anything retained, and can you delete it?
- Is your message content used to train models, and can you opt out?
- What happens to the AI features if you turn Full Access off?
Save the policy link on the day you install the app. Features get added quietly, and a link you already have makes the next check a two-minute job.
Claims that deserve a second look
Some privacy copy is written to sound reassuring without committing to anything. These are the patterns worth pausing on.
- “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 do mean you are trusting a brand rather than a stated mechanism, and that is a different kind of decision.
A ten-minute audit you can repeat
Run this once per keyboard, then again after any update that adds AI buttons. It replaces guesswork with a configuration you can describe.
- 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 a local or on-device option and note which features it covers.
- 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 example: local option on, cloud rewrite on, work notes stay on the Mac.
FAQ
Does Full Access mean the keyboard sees everything I type?
It means the keyboard can use the network, along with a few other capabilities that sandboxed keyboards lack. What a vendor does with that is a policy question, which is why the policy matters more than the prompt.
Why does the keyboard change when I tap a password field?
iOS does that on purpose. Password, PIN, and many card fields are marked secure, and the system keyboard takes over so third-party keyboards never receive those keystrokes. Expect the switch and treat it as working correctly.
Can I use an AI keyboard without Full Access?
You can type with it. Anything that needs a server, including cloud voice typing, rewrite, translation, and reply drafting, stays unavailable until you allow it.
Is on-device processing available on iPhone keyboards?
Sometimes. Auri Keyboard offers selectable cloud transcription engines on iPhone, or On-Device English-only transcription. Cloud is the usual default. On Mac, Auri Voice can keep both transcription and text cleanup on-device, with cloud speech and AI providers available if you opt in.
What should I do after granting Full Access?
Turn it off once and type a paragraph. Whatever stops working is the list of features that use the network, and that list is more honest than any marketing page.