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How to Request Network Access and Send Text Securely from an iOS Keyboard Extension

A custom iOS keyboard needs a plist request and the user’s Allow Full Access setting to use network features. Learn how to check access, preserve offline input, and handle text securely.

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To let an iOS custom keyboard use the network, set RequestsOpenAccess to true in the keyboard extension’s Info.plist, then have the user enable Allow Full Access for that keyboard in Settings. The declaration only requests the capability: check UIInputViewController.hasFullAccess at runtime before using network features. If text leaves the device, Apple says to transmit it securely and use it only for text input.

What Full Access changes

A custom keyboard runs in an isolated extension process. By default, its sandbox blocks network access and prevents writing to the containing app’s shared group container, although reading from that container is permitted. Open access can enable network activity and shared-container writing, along with other capabilities Apple describes in its open-access configuration guide.

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The setting is a user decision, not something the app can grant on the user’s behalf. A RequestsOpenAccess declaration asks for the expanded capability; it does not establish that the user has enabled it or that it remains available. Apple’s property-list reference documents the Boolean request, while the configuration guide explains the user’s separate Full Access choice.

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Request access and check it at runtime

  1. Identify the feature that needs access. Request open access only when the keyboard genuinely needs network resources or shared-container write access. Explain the user-visible feature before asking the user to enable it.
  2. Set the request in the keyboard extension target. In that target’s Info.plist, add NSExtensionAttributes under NSExtension if needed, then set RequestsOpenAccess to the Boolean value true. Do this in the extension’s property list, not merely the containing app’s.
  3. Ask the user to enable Full Access. The user must switch on Allow Full Access for the keyboard in Settings. The plist declaration does not toggle this setting.
  4. Gate network features on the actual grant. In the keyboard extension, check UIInputViewController.hasFullAccess before starting network-dependent work. If it is false, do not rely on a request having succeeded; keep the feature unavailable or provide a useful reduced mode.

Apple’s custom keyboard documentation describes the extension context and its capabilities. The user may decline access, and network connectivity may also be absent, so basic text entry should not depend on either.

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Keep the keyboard useful without networking

Apple’s archived Custom Keyboard guide says a keyboard must be able to operate independently of network access. Treat remote suggestions, server-based prediction, or another network feature as an enhancement—not a prerequisite for entering text.

  • Continue ordinary local input when Full Access is off.
  • Handle network failure separately from permission denial; a grant does not guarantee a working connection.
  • Make the network-dependent feature’s unavailable state understandable rather than silently disabling basic keyboard behavior.

Send keystrokes only for a clear, explained feature

Apple’s responsibility guidance for keyboards that send keystrokes to a server says: “Transmit data securely, and use only for the purpose of text input.” Apple also says not to retain received keystroke or voice data beyond the time needed to return text or provide features explained to the user. Its examples include server-side touch-event processing and input prediction. See Apple’s open-access guidance.

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In practice, identify what the feature sends, minimize the data sent, protect it in transit, and keep it only as long as the described service needs it to return text or deliver that feature. Explain the feature to users. A generic privacy policy alone does not replace these specific responsibilities.

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The cited Apple guidance establishes the security, purpose, and retention duties, but does not specify a transport protocol, TLS version, server architecture, or certificate-pinning scheme. Those implementation choices should not be presented as Apple-mandated keyboard-extension requirements on the basis of this guidance.

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Know where the custom keyboard cannot appear

Custom keyboards are unavailable in secure text fields and phone-number fields. Apple’s Virtual keyboards guidelines identify those cases, and the archived keyboard guide explains that the system temporarily replaces a custom keyboard for secure text input. Do not promise that your extension can capture or process text entered in those fields.

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