Where to turn off autocorrect on your iPhone

You can disable autocorrect entirely in Settings, or turn it off for individual messages as you type. The full disable lives in Settings > General > Keyboard, where you'll find the toggle for "Auto-Correction" — switch it off and autocorrect stops working across all apps. If you want to keep autocorrect on most of the time but disable it in specific moments, you can reject a suggestion by tapping the X that appears next to the autocorrect word before you send.

Most people disable autocorrect because it changes words they actually want to use — technical terms, names, slang, or words in other languages. Once you turn it off in Settings, you lose the feature everywhere: Mail, Messages, Notes, search boxes, all of it. That's why some people leave it on and just reject suggestions case-by-case instead.

Key Takeaways

  • Open Settings, tap General, then Keyboard, and toggle off "Auto-Correction" to disable it system-wide on your iPhone.
  • You can reject individual autocorrect suggestions by tapping the X next to the suggested word before you send your message.
  • Turning off autocorrect affects every app on your phone, not just Messages or Mail.
  • If you disable autocorrect, you may want to keep predictive text on, since that feature suggests words without changing what you've already typed.

Step-by-step: disable autocorrect in Settings

Open the Settings app on your home screen. Tap General — it's usually near the top of the list. Scroll down and tap Keyboard. You'll see several toggles; "Auto-Correction" is the one you need. Tap it once to turn it off. The toggle will turn gray, and autocorrect stops working immediately.

If you change your mind later, the same toggle turns it back on. You don't need to restart your phone or close any apps — the change takes effect right away.

Rejecting autocorrect suggestions without disabling the feature

If you want to keep autocorrect on for most typing but stop it from changing a specific word, watch for the suggestion box that appears above your keyboard as you type. When you see a word you don't want, tap the X on the right side of the suggestion. Your original word stays, and the suggestion disappears.

This approach works well if autocorrect usually helps you but occasionally changes something you meant to type — a name, a technical term, or a word in another language. Each time you reject a suggestion, your iPhone learns a little more about what you actually type, though it won't remember the rejection permanently across all your devices.

The difference between autocorrect and predictive text

Autocorrect changes what you've already typed without asking. You type "teh" and it becomes "the" before you even finish the word. Predictive text suggests words above the keyboard but doesn't change anything unless you tap the suggestion — you stay in control.

You can turn off autocorrect while leaving predictive text on. Some people prefer this setup because they get word suggestions without the surprise corrections. Predictive text lives in the same Keyboard settings menu, under "Predictive" — toggle it on or off separately from autocorrect.

Why autocorrect changes words you actually want

Autocorrect works from a dictionary built into iOS. When you type a word that's close to something in that dictionary — a typo, a misspelling, or just a word pattern the system recognizes — it swaps in what it thinks you meant. This works well for common typos but fails when you're typing slang, names, technical terms, or words in languages other than English.

If you type the same unusual word repeatedly and reject the autocorrect suggestion each time, your iPhone eventually learns it and stops trying to change it. But this learning is local to your device — if you sign into a new iPhone with the same Apple ID, you start over.

Autocorrect behavior across different apps

Autocorrect works the same way in Messages, Mail, Notes, Safari search, and most third-party apps. When you disable it in Settings, it stops working everywhere. Some apps like Twitter or Reddit have their own text fields, but they still use the system autocorrect unless the app developer specifically overrides it.

If you're typing in a web browser's text box on a website, autocorrect may or may not work depending on how the website's form is built. Most of the time it does, but some sites disable it for password fields or specialized input boxes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning off autocorrect affect spell check?

No. Autocorrect and spell check are separate features. Spell check puts a red underline under words it doesn't recognize; autocorrect changes them automatically. You can turn off autocorrect and keep spell check on, or vice versa. Spell check lives in the same Keyboard settings menu.

Will autocorrect turn back on if I update my iPhone?

No. iOS updates don't reset your Keyboard settings. If you turn off autocorrect, it stays off through updates. However, if you erase your iPhone and set it up as new (not from a backup), autocorrect will be on by default again.

Can I turn off autocorrect for just one app?

Not directly. The autocorrect setting in Keyboard controls it system-wide. Some apps have their own text settings, but they usually can't override the system autocorrect. Your best option is to disable it globally or reject suggestions case-by-case as you type.

Why does autocorrect sometimes change words I typed correctly?

Autocorrect runs on pattern matching, not context. If you type a word that's one or two letters away from something in its dictionary, it may swap it even if you spelled it right. Proper nouns, slang, and technical terms are common victims because they're not in the standard dictionary.