I've been reporting that iOS 13 has been causing serious problems to its users after the update and it seems that in addition to being recurring, the more you use Apple's new system for mobile devices, the more you discover security-related problems.
A week in advance Apple released a new update, iOS 13.1, but now it seems that the update has fixed some bugs and left others still unresolved.
In a brief statement, Apple warned iPhone and iPad owners about a bug related to third-party keyboards. The issue allows any third-party keyboard installed like Gboard or Swiftkey to grant themselves "full access" permissions - without your authorization.
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Optional permissions, when granted, allow these apps to offer additional features such as smart suggestions, spell check improvements, and more.
To facilitate these skills, keyboard apps need to process and collect your personal data, including your SMS messages in some cases and everything you type.
Until now, users had the option of using keyboard apps minus these extra tools. But in iOS 13, they can take advantage of the bug and work in full access mode.
It's worth noting that the flaw will only be misused if the developer wants it to and that probably won't happen as long as you cling to reputable brands like Google and Microsoft-owned Swiftkey.
That doesn't mean you should worry about the third-party keyboard you're currently employing - especially when you've already granted full access permissions.
However, if there are multiple keyboard apps on your phone and you only operate on one of them, it's best to get rid of the rest until Apple fixes the problem.
You can uninstall them or disable the app in keyboard settings. To do this, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Edit.
"This issue does not affect Apple's native keyboards. It also does not affect third-party keyboards that do not make use of full access. The problem will be fixed soon in the next software update.", wrote Apple in a support post.
The issue affects iOS 13 and iPadOS and no, upgrading to iOS 13.1 does not resolve this particular issue. Fortunately, iOS 13.2 has entered the beta phase and should be available soon.
