SwiftKey Suspends Sync After Messages About Bad Suggestions

SwiftKey warns it has disabled “cloud syncing” from its keyboard app after receiving messages from users showing erroneous predictions. For example, some saw e-mail addresses of people they did not know.

In a blog post, the company writes that the problem only affects a very small part of the users. It would now be working on an update to fix the issues. This should ensure that no more e-mail addresses are predicted. There would be no security risk for SwiftKey users.

The Telegraph, among others, writes that several users experienced problems with text predictions. For example, in addition to unknown email addresses, the app also showed words in a language that was not spoken by the user in question. The phenomenon would also have occurred on a reinstalled device, a user reported on Reddit.

SwiftKey predicts the text a user will type using artificial intelligence and neural networks. It is possible to have this data synchronized in an online profile. The British company was acquired by Microsoft in February for $250 million. Recently, the application also supports Frisian.