Turn Off Word Prediction and Autocorrect for Android and iOS

In this post, we help you turn off word prediction. The Autocorrect feature on a mobile phone or a desktop is an excellent option. It helps you correct the wrongly entered word and replaces it with the correct version of the word. The predictive feature on your Android and iOS device should be an excellent option. However, what if you are looking for the opportunities to deactivate or turn off the prediction and autocorrect feature on your devices? We will check out the best options for turning off the functionality.

What is the Autocorrect Feature?

Autocorrect is a feature that corrects the wrongly entered words automatically. It can indeed be considered to be a convenient feature and aims at correcting you. In fact, in context with this post, we refer to Autocorrect as a feature that replaces what you have written with the version that it thinks to be correct.

The feature can be a good option for people who tend to type faster. It can even help people with dyslexia or dysgraphia. It can also be helpful for you if you are someone who tends to send emails right from their phone. The autocorrect feature on your smartphone can be a good option for working with the accessibility features like swipe to type or other keyboard shortcut options.

While the technology behind the feature called Autocorrect is quite tremendous and excellent in its own right, but the way it works would make it one of the difficult tasks. There are several reasons you would want the autocorrect feature disabled. You do not find it impressive or maybe finding it quite uncomfortable to use. Thankfully, the autocorrect feature can either be customized to meet your needs or better still, it can be completely turned off.

Why Turn off Word Prediction and Autocorrect feature on a smartphone?

The language keeps changing constantly. The written communication – as it used to be in the past, had been constant, while the spoken language kept on changing. However, even that has been going through a considerable change over the years.

The millennials have been using the written language with such liberty that an autocorrect feature – if enabled – will keep nagging them for each of the words they type. This can be a situation where you would want to disable or turn off the word prediction and autocorrect feature. Another case where you would want to turn off the autocorrect feature is when you are not a native speaker of the language.

There are multiple scenarios where you would want to turn off your autocorrect feature. You may be someone who uses a lot of proper nouns. Alternatively, you may be someone who uses the accent or type of language that Google or any other operating system does not understand. Most tend to write in a bilingual manner. Turning off the autocorrect feature can be quite handy enough in those circumstances. You will not need to switch between the languages if you have turned off the autocorrect feature.

How to Turn off Autocorrect feature on Android?

Well, there is no one size fits all concept available for the entire Android ecosystem that you would be able to turn off the autocorrect feature. It would specifically be dependent upon the keyboard app that you are using on your Android device.

Given the fact that Gboard is used as the default keyboard app on most of the Android smartphones, we will check the option for turning off autocorrect and word detection feature on your Android device based on Gboard keyboard.

Please note that even after disabling or turning off the prediction feature, Gboard will still make suggestions at the top of the app, but will not apply the autocorrect. You can only apply the corrections only if you tap on those suggestions.

Here are the steps that you would need to opt for if you are looking to turn off word prediction and autocorrect feature –

Launch your Android Settings
Locate and tap on System
Follow the path

Language and Input -> Virtual Keyboard

You should find the virtual keyboards installed on your smartphone.
You should also find the default keyboard option listed under the settings.
Tap on Gboard
Locate the option text Correction.
Locate the Correction
You should find the option Auto Correction
Toggle the option to turn it off.

That should do it. You have successfully changed the auto-correction feature on your Android device.

You will no longer be prompted to autocorrection.

There is an option to help you turn off prediction as well. It may or may not work effectively in individual cases.

Here is how you would work with it –

Go to your Android Settings
Locate and tap on System
Follow the path

Language and Input -> Virtual Keyboard

You should find the virtual keyboards installed on your smartphone.
You should also find the default keyboard option listed under the settings.
Tap on Gboard
Choose the option for Text Correction.
Locate the option for Next word suggestion.

Turn off the toggle to disable the prediction feature.

Please note that the above tutorial is based on the Gboard keyboard app. The exact functionality will be dependent upon your virtual keyboard. The steps should be almost similar in every aspect. Moreover, most of us tend to use the Gboard on an Android device.

Another excellent option would be to add your words to your Personal Dictionary. Adding your words to the Personal Dictionary should help you avoid frequent autocorrections.

How to Turn off Word Prediction and Autocorrect feature on iPhones?

The iOS ecosystem makes us believe that the keyboard and auto-correction feature that it offers is one of the smartest ever. The autocorrect and prediction functionality takes into account your writing style and history to arrive at the right choice and amount of word prediction.

It may be appropriate and accurate in most of the cases. Even then, it can be quite irritating and annoying in many cases. The reasons that would want to disable or turn off the autocorrect and word prediction functionality on your device.

Here are a few options that should help you turn off the word prediction and autocorrect features on your iPhone –

Locate the Settings and tap on it.
Scroll down and locate the option for General
Next, tap on Keyboard
Toggle the option for Auto-Correction to off.
You can also locate the option for Prediction and disable it by toggling it to an off position.

That should do it. Exit from Settings and go back to your home screen. You have successfully deactivated the word prediction and autocorrect feature on your iOS device.

A Few Specific Features offered by Autocorrection on Android and iOS

The auto-correction feature on your Android device comes with its advantages and options. While the above steps outlined through the tutorial indicate the basic functionality of how to turn off and disable autocorrect feature and word prediction on your device.

When you turn off the Auto correction and Prediction features, as explained in the above discussion, it may also be essential to pay attention to a few other features that the option provides you.

Some of these additional features that should be helpful enough would be –

Auto Correction – This section does not need any specific explanation. The option is used to auto correct the wrongly typed word.
Auto Capitalisation – This will capitalize the first letter of every sentence.
Double Space period – This option will help you double tapping on the space bar to introduce a full stop or the period. You do not need to type it in, accurately.
Show Suggestion Strip – This strip is always shown on the top end of the keyboard. Please note that it will keep working even after turning off autocorrect, but you can turn it off from here.
Next word suggestion – This feature makes use the previous word to suggest the next word. This is a part of the prediction feature.
Spell Check – This feature is almost akin to the similar spell checking feature on your MS Word or other word processor application.

The features outlined here are specific to Gboard or the default keyboard on your Android device. You may be able to find other additional features on your keyboard app if you are using any of the specific third-party applications on your phone.

Do we Really recommend Turning off Autocorrect and Word prediction?

Well, that should be something that solely depends upon your preferences. Autocorrect is what has always been considered to be a necessary evil or a double-edged sword.

If you are someone who types quite faster, the autocorrect and word prediction feature can be quite helpful in misspelled words and typing errors.

However, there are issues that it can create. It can sometimes introduce the words that do not have any correlation to the total sentences you have completed.

So, ultimately, it would boil down to what category of users you belong to. You can choose your preferred mode based on how you use your autocorrection feature on your smartphone.

In Conclusion

The features like word prediction and the autocorrect are the excellent options that streamline the functionality of your keyboard and your typing experience. We assume that the tips and fixes we have introduced here for turning off or disabling the word prediction and auto-correct functionality on your device should ideally meet all your needs and address it to a better degree.

Check out the tips and do share your experiences with us. While the suggestions and tips here are based on the Gboard keyboard app, we expect them to work equally in almost every other keyboard app.