Where to find autocorrect settings on each device

Autocorrect is the feature that changes words as you type them. You can turn it off completely, adjust which words it corrects, or disable it only in certain apps. Where you find these settings depends on what device you use.

On an iPhone or iPad, autocorrect lives in Settings > General > Keyboard. On Android phones, it's usually in Settings > System > Languages and input > Virtual keyboard, though the exact path varies by manufacturer — Samsung phones put it under Settings > General management > Language and input. On Windows computers, Settings > Time & language > Typing handles autocorrect. On Mac, System Settings > Keyboard > Text does the same job.

The simplest approach is to search your device's settings for the word "autocorrect" — most devices will jump you straight to the right menu. Once you're there, you'll see a toggle or checkbox to turn the whole feature off, or options to disable it selectively.

Key Takeaways

  • iPhone and iPad autocorrect settings are in Settings > General > Keyboard, where you can toggle it off entirely or adjust individual word corrections.
  • Android devices keep autocorrect in Settings > System > Languages and input > Virtual keyboard, but the exact path depends on your phone's manufacturer.
  • Windows computers control autocorrect through Settings > Time & language > Typing, while Mac users find it in System Settings > Keyboard > Text.
  • You can disable autocorrect globally across your whole device, or turn it off only in specific apps like email or messaging.
  • If you want to keep autocorrect but remove a word it keeps changing, you can usually delete that word from your device's dictionary.

Turning off autocorrect on iPhone and iPad

Open Settings and tap General, then Keyboard. You'll see a toggle labeled "Auto-Correction" — tap it to turn it off. The toggle will turn gray when autocorrect is disabled.

If you want to keep autocorrect but stop it from changing a specific word, go to the same menu and look for "Text Replacement." You can add an entry where the "shortcut" and "phrase" are identical — for example, typing "teh" as both the shortcut and the phrase will prevent autocorrect from changing "teh" to "the." This works for any word your phone keeps correcting that you actually want to type.

Turning off autocorrect on Android

The steps vary slightly depending on whether you use Google's Gboard keyboard, Samsung's keyboard, or another third-party option. For Gboard, open Settings, go to System > Languages and input > Virtual keyboard > Gboard, then tap Text correction. You'll see toggles for "Auto-correction," "Spell checker," and related features — turn off whichever ones you don't want.

On Samsung phones, go to Settings > General management > Language and input > On-screen keyboard > Samsung Keyboard, then Text correction. The menu layout is similar but the path is different. If you use a different keyboard app entirely, open that app's own settings rather than your phone's system settings — most keyboard apps have their own preferences menu.

Turning off autocorrect on Windows

Open Settings and go to Time & language > Typing. Under "Autocorrect," you'll see toggles for "Autocorrect misspelled words," "Highlight misspelled words," and "Autocorrect when I type." Turn off whichever features you don't want. You can also manage your personal dictionary here — any words you've added to it will appear in a list you can edit or delete.

If you use Microsoft Word specifically, autocorrect settings there are separate from your system settings. Open Word, go to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options, and you'll see a much longer list of autocorrect rules you can toggle individually or delete.

Turning off autocorrect on Mac

Open System Settings and go to Keyboard > Text. You'll see checkboxes for "Correct spelling automatically," "Capitalize words," "Add period with double space," and others. Uncheck "Correct spelling automatically" to disable autocorrect. You can leave the other options on or off depending on your preference.

In individual Mac apps like Mail or Notes, you can also right-click a word that's been autocorrected and choose "Undo" or "Learn Spelling" to tell the system not to correct it in the future. This trains your device's dictionary without turning off autocorrect everywhere.

Disabling autocorrect in just one app

Most phones and computers don't offer a built-in way to turn off autocorrect in one app while keeping it on everywhere else. Your best option is usually to use that app's own settings. Open the app, look for Preferences, Settings, or Options, and search for "autocorrect" or "spelling." Not every app has its own autocorrect controls, but email clients, messaging apps, and note-taking apps often do.

If the app doesn't have its own autocorrect setting, you can turn off autocorrect system-wide when you're using that app and turn it back on when you're done. It's not convenient, but it's the only way to prevent autocorrect in a single app without affecting the rest of your device.

Removing words from your device's dictionary

When you type a word your device doesn't recognize, it usually offers a suggestion. If you tap the suggestion, the word gets added to your personal dictionary and autocorrect will use it from then on. If you later regret adding a word, you can remove it.

On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement and look for the word in the list. Swipe left on it and tap Delete. On Android with Gboard, open Gboard settings, go to Dictionary, and delete the word from there. On Windows, open Settings > Time & language > Typing and scroll through your personal dictionary to find and delete the word. On Mac, go to System Settings > Keyboard > Text and look for the word in your learned words list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off autocorrect affect spell-check?

No. Autocorrect and spell-check are separate features. Autocorrect changes words as you type; spell-check underlines misspelled words so you can fix them yourself. You can turn off autocorrect and keep spell-check on, or vice versa. The settings are usually right next to each other in your device's keyboard menu.

Can I turn off autocorrect just for texting?

Most phones don't let you disable autocorrect in one app only. Your best option is to check your texting app's own settings — some messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram have their own autocorrect controls. Otherwise, you'll need to turn off autocorrect system-wide.

Why does my device keep autocorrecting words I actually want to type?

Your device learned those words from your personal dictionary, usually when you tapped an autocorrect suggestion in the past. Find the word in your device's dictionary and delete it. After that, your device will stop changing it. You can also add the word as a text replacement so it never gets corrected.

Does autocorrect work the same way on all keyboards?

No. If you use a third-party keyboard like Gboard, SwiftKey, or Grammarly, autocorrect works differently than your device's built-in keyboard. Each keyboard app has its own settings. Open the keyboard app itself and look for Preferences or Settings to adjust autocorrect there.

Can I turn off autocorrect temporarily without changing my settings?

On most devices, no — you have to go into settings to disable it. The one exception is on some Android keyboards: if you hold down the space bar while typing, you can sometimes see autocorrect suggestions and reject them one at a time, but this doesn't turn off the feature permanently.