Where your keyboard stores what you type
Your phone's keyboard learns words and phrases from everything you type — texts, searches, passwords, medical terms, names. It stores these in a prediction dictionary so it can suggest words faster next time. On Android, this data lives in your keyboard app's settings. On iPhone, it's in Settings under Keyboard. The keyboard also watches what you type to build a personal dictionary, which is separate from your general search history.
This means your keyboard knows things your browser history doesn't: half-finished thoughts, misspelled words you corrected, names you searched for in messaging apps. If someone picks up your phone and opens the keyboard, they can see suggestions that reveal what you've been typing. If your phone is synced to a cloud account, that keyboard data may sync too.
Key Takeaways
- Your keyboard app stores a prediction dictionary of words you type, separate from your browser history or search history.
- On Android, you clear this in your keyboard app settings under Dictionary or Learned Words; on iPhone, you reset it in Settings > General > Keyboard.
- Clearing keyboard history removes past predictions but does not stop the keyboard from learning new words unless you turn off learning in the app settings.
- If your phone syncs to a cloud account (Google, iCloud, Samsung), keyboard data may sync across devices unless you disable that sync in your account settings.
How to clear keyboard history on Android
The steps depend on which keyboard app you use. Most Android phones come with Google Keyboard (Gboard) or Samsung Keyboard. Open your keyboard app's settings — usually by opening any text field, long-pressing the keyboard icon, and tapping Settings.
In Gboard, go to Settings > Dictionary > Delete learned words. This removes all the words the keyboard has learned from your typing. You can also go to Settings > Advanced > Personalization and toggle off "Personalized suggestions" to stop the keyboard from learning new words going forward. In Samsung Keyboard, go to Settings > Personal dictionary and delete entries one by one, or go to Settings > Reset and choose Reset all settings to clear everything at once.
If you use a third-party keyboard like SwiftKey or Fleksy, the path is different for each one. Open the app itself (not just the keyboard), find Settings, and look for Dictionary, Learned Words, or Personal Data. Delete or reset from there.
How to clear keyboard history on iPhone
iPhone stores keyboard data in a single place. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Edit Dictionary. This shows words you have manually added. Tap the red minus button next to each word to delete it, or swipe left on a word to delete it quickly. If you have many words, there is no "delete all" button — you delete them one at a time.
To stop iPhone from learning new words, go to Settings > General > Keyboard and toggle off "Allow Full Access" for any third-party keyboards you use. This limits what data those keyboards can see and store. For the built-in Apple keyboard, there is no toggle to stop learning, but clearing the dictionary regularly limits what gets stored.
Stopping your keyboard from learning new words
Even after you clear your history, your keyboard will start learning again the moment you start typing. If you want to prevent that, you need to turn off learning in the keyboard settings.
On Android with Gboard, go to Settings > Advanced > Personalization and toggle off "Personalized suggestions". On Samsung Keyboard, go to Settings > Personalization and toggle off "Learn typing patterns". On iPhone, you cannot fully disable learning for the built-in keyboard, but you can delete the dictionary regularly and use a third-party keyboard with learning disabled.
The trade-off is real: turning off learning makes typing slower because the keyboard cannot predict what you want to type next. It will not suggest common words or correct your misspellings as well. Most people find this annoying enough that they keep learning on and clear the history periodically instead.
What happens if your phone syncs to the cloud
If your Android phone is signed into a Google account, your keyboard data syncs to Google's servers. If your iPhone is signed into iCloud, keyboard data syncs there too. Clearing the keyboard history on your device does not automatically delete it from the cloud — you have to disable sync first, or delete it from your account settings.
On Android, go to Settings > Google > Manage your Google Account > Data & Privacy > Web & App Activity. Toggle off "Include Chrome history and activity from apps and websites". This stops new keyboard data from syncing. To delete what is already synced, you may need to go to myactivity.google.com, search for keyboard or dictionary entries, and delete them manually.
On iPhone, go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud and toggle off Keyboard. This stops syncing new keyboard data. Existing data on iCloud is harder to delete — Apple does not give you a direct way to remove just keyboard data from iCloud, so you may need to contact Apple Support if you want it removed from their servers.
When keyboard history matters most
Keyboard history is most visible to someone who has physical access to your phone. If you share your device with family members, a partner, or a roommate, they can open any text field and see what words the keyboard suggests. This can reveal searches, names, or phrases you would rather keep private.
Keyboard history also matters if your phone is lost or stolen. A person who finds your phone can see keyboard suggestions even if they cannot unlock it — they just need to open the lock screen and swipe to the keyboard. Clearing your keyboard history regularly reduces what they can see.
If you use your phone for work and your employer has a mobile device management (MDM) tool installed, your employer may be able to see keyboard data depending on how the tool is configured. Check your company's device policy to understand what is monitored.
The difference between keyboard history and other typing records
Clearing keyboard history does not clear your text message history, email, or search history. Those live in separate apps and have their own deletion methods. Your keyboard only stores the words it has learned to predict — not the full sentences or conversations you typed.
Your browser also keeps a separate search history. Clearing keyboard history will not touch that. If you search for something in Google or Safari, that search stays in your browser history even if you clear the keyboard's learned words.
Some messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal have their own typing indicators and read receipts, which are separate from keyboard history. Clearing keyboard history does not affect those either.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone see my keyboard history if my phone is locked?
Not easily. They would need to unlock your phone first. However, on some Android devices, a person can swipe to the keyboard on the lock screen before entering a password, which means they could see keyboard suggestions without unlocking the phone. Clearing keyboard history regularly reduces what they can see this way.
Does clearing keyboard history delete my passwords?
No. Your keyboard history and your password manager are separate. Clearing keyboard history removes learned words and suggestions, not saved passwords. Passwords are stored in your phone's password manager or in apps like 1Password or Bitwarden, which have their own security.
Will clearing keyboard history slow down my typing?
Temporarily, yes. The keyboard will have fewer learned words to draw from, so it will take a few days of typing for it to learn common words again and start predicting as quickly as before. Most people do not notice the difference after a week.
If I clear keyboard history on my phone, does it clear on my other devices?
Only if you disable cloud sync. If your Android phone and tablet are both signed into the same Google account, clearing history on one device does not automatically clear it on the other — you have to disable sync or delete from your Google account settings. Same for iPhone and iPad with iCloud.
What if I want to keep some learned words but delete others?
On Android with Gboard, you can delete individual words from your dictionary one at a time in Settings > Dictionary. On iPhone, you can delete individual words from Edit Dictionary the same way. There is no way to bulk-delete only certain categories of words — you either clear everything or delete one by one.