Android 16 May Let Apps Block AI-Generated Text From Keyboards

Android 15 is still making its way to users, but we’re already talking about Android 16. Well, this is because Google released the developer preview not too long ago. So, people are digging into what features it could offer. One Android 16 feature could let apps block AI-generated text from keyboards.

At this point, all of the information we know about Android 16 is extemely early. This makes sense, as Google is still developing the software and features. So, the we’re not seeing many major features or additions.

Some people have adopted the AI life so completely that they probably haven’t manually written a word in over a year. Several keyboard apps, like Samsung Keyboards have generative AI tools that can generate text for you. These are useful for when typing out a long message is just too hard.

While there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that, there’s a chance that an app developer might not like that. At this point, if someone wants so use their AI keyboard in someone’s app, there’s nothing that the the developer can do. However, Android 16 could change that. According to the report, Google could add an API for developers that can identify and block keyboard from pasting AI-generated text.

This was found through an APK deep-dive, so you’ll want to take this with a grain of salt. The code for this was found within Android’s code, but it doesn’t mean that this feature will be in the final version.

Mishaal Rahman, in collaboration with Android Authority, found some code within the software. The bit of code that lets the keboard know what information can go in a text field is called the EditorInfo class. For example, it will tell Gboard that a password goes in a certain text field. This is why it knows to surface your saved email addressess or passwords.

Well, when looking through the code, Rahman and the gang found two new methods in the EditorInfo class. One of them is isWritingToolsEnabled () and the other one is setWritingToolsEnabled(). When a keyboard has an AI writing tool enabled, then the setWritingToolsEnabled () will return true.

An app can choose to opt out of letting keyboards insert AI-generated text. If, for instance, a social media app doesn’t want a keyboard to generate a bio, then the setWritingToolsEnabled () method can return false and not allow it to generate the text.

At this point, we don’t know what apps will block AI-generated text. We will just have to wait to find out. We’ll see a bunch of new stuff coming to Android 16, so stay tuned.