Microsoft Disables SwiftKey Word Prediction Feature After Data Leak Rumors

[Exterminator]

Microsoft has decided to disable some typing prediction features in the SwiftKey apps after users started complaining on Reddit about seeing weird word suggestions.

First signs that something wrong was happening started appearing last weekend when some users complained about seeing word predictions for terms in other languages whenever they used an application that used the SwiftKey keyboard.

Users also reported that whenever wanting to enter an email addresses they were seeing suggestions for addresses they've never seen before.

Putting the two clues together, users quickly realized that something was terribly wrong with SwiftKey, a keyboard app for Android and iOS that Microsoft purchased this spring.

As more accounts of weird behavior started piling up in a Reddit thread, the company developing the application announced Friday it had decided to remove word predictions for email addresses from their app until they identify the source of the problem.

The company also said that the vast majority of users aren't affected by this issue, but had decided to turn off the app's cloud sync service as well, a feature that allowed users to sync typing predictions across different devices.

It may be possible that this is the source of the problem, with the service sending typing predictions to wrong phones instead of the user's real devices.

Below is an image of a malfunctioning SwiftKey keyboard suggesting to a user an email address he hadn't seen before.

 

[DardiM]

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