Found a stat about autocorrect fails that blew my mind

I was scrolling through some old internet archives last week, looking for funny typos from the early 2000s for a lesson plan idea. That's when I stumbled on a fact that 87% of smartphone users have sent at least one message that autocorrect completely butchered. What got me was the specific example of someone texting 'I'll be there in a duck' instead of 'truck'. I used to think autocorrect fails were just funny one-offs from careless typing, but seeing that percentage made me realize how common it really is. My own phone once changed 'meeting' to 'mating' before I hit send, and I laughed it off. But now I'm wondering how many actual arguments or misunderstandings started from a botched autocorrect. Has anyone else here caught themselves right before sending something weird?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_kelly4321d ago

That stat seems inflated to me. Most autocorrect fails people blame on their phones are really just them not proofreading before hitting send. People mash the send button too fast and then act like the phone did something wrong. Half the time it's not even autocorrect, it's just a typo they're too lazy to fix. Autocorrect saves way more embarrassing situations than it causes.

avery_lopez21d ago

@charles_kelly43 you underestimate how much autocorrect genuinely invents nonsense like turning "duck" into "fudge" for no reason.