SwiftKey Has Leaked User Email Addresses and Phone Numbers as Text Predictions

According to a new report from the Telegraph, SwiftKey on iOS and Android has suspended a key component of its keyboard app after it was found to be leaking other users’ private data.

Multiple SwiftKey users have found other people’s phone numbers and email addresses appearing in their suggestions. The company believes the error is due to a bug in the keyboard’s synchronization feature, which is used to keep user data updated between multiple devices.

The company has deactivated the problem while it works on a fix. SwiftKey users have been taking to Twitter to complain about the issue.

Earlier today, SwiftKey issued a statement about the data leak:

“This week, a few of our customers noticed unexpected predictions where unfamiliar terms, and in some rare cases emails, appeared when using their mobile phone. We are working quickly to resolve this inconvenience.

While this did not pose a security issue for our customers, we have turned off the cloud sync service and are updating our applications to remove email address predictions. During this time, it will not be possible to back up your SwiftKey language model.

The vast majority of SwiftKey users are not affected by this issue. If you have any reason to believe you are seeing unfamiliar predictions, please contact reviews@swiftkey.com.”

The company has assured users that the app is still okay to use while the issue is being resolved and their personal data will not be lost.