Letters and words showing in print when using braille screen input

This has been a problem since the begining with braille screen input. Not only do I find it a privacy concern, but I frankly don't understand the value of having what I type flash up on screen.

Does it still show up in print when screen curtain is on? I would asume no? but I had no idea it was showing up in print at all.

Isn't this intended behavior? I can't see at all, but I assume it's translating the text you type in Braille and displaying it on the screen because you're typing it into the edit field. If you want privacy, use screen curtain, that's why it's there.

In response to @Chris, who suggests the thread starter to just use the screen curtain mode. I'd say it's too easy to assume what works for some people must be also working for all the other.
I thought @Magic Retina had already mentioned in his post that given his low vision, it is very inconvenient to have to keep turning on and off every time he is to type anything at all.
I'd be so bold to suggest that it is exactly with the rigid mindset of one-size-fit-all approach, where I suspect Apple develop their accessibility solutions with little engagement with everyday, real life users with accessible needs that sometime, they opted for incredibly clunky solutions.
As each individual person with accessibility needs ourselves, I think the last thing we should do is to take such effortless, assuming stance, and say that something is what it is for. If we do it ourselves, how can we expect other people who are not caught in our difficulties to take the effort to understand and help us more?

Please clarify if I'm getting this wrong, because it's very likely I am since I can't see what's going on visually. I don't understand what you're trying to do here. As far as I know, text typed using Braille Screen Input is immediately translated and displayed, just like it would be if you used dictation or any other method to type. You want to hide this visual output for privacy in public, so why not use the screen curtain? This seems counterproductive to me. It seems highly unlikely that sighted people would first turn on VoiceOver, and then spend the extra time not only learning its gestures, but learning how BSI works which is a core feature of VO. You can always contact Apple, though they may or may not do anything about it. It's honestly hard to tell, since the people at Apple do whatever they want. The only way I know of hhiding the screen is via screen curtain.

I must be missing something here. If I type an email or text using the onscreen keyboard the text will appear on the screen. No matter what input method I use the text will appear on the screen. So why should BSI be treated any differently? It's just another way of inputing text. Why would we need to hide the text when text is visible with all other input methods? I'm really not trying to be disrespectful at all. I'm sorry if that's how I'm coming across. I'm just genuinely curious as to why this is such a big issue?

Hello. To Magic Retina and others concerned about their privacy when using BSI, I also don't clearly understand the issue here. I do understand your concern that people can see what you're writing with BSI, especially since the text appears to be larger than regular on-screen text. I also want to say that I mean no disrespect. Like Earle, I do not think that this is a huge issue. Granted, if someone were close enough or even looking in your direction, then yes, they may be able to see what you're writing. However, I would think that the same would be true if a sighted person were looking over the shoulder of another sighted person who was dictating, using the on-screen keyboard, or using another method to enter their text. I am totally blind so I don't know if this could happen, but if others think people could read what you are writing with BSI, then it seems equally possible for sighted people to see what other sighted people were writing with dictation or the virtual keyboard.
Again, I have no way of verifying this, other than asking my sighted wife. Honestly though, I don't think that this is a huge privacy concern. How many people are purposely walking around using their own vision or magnification of some sort (even if with a digital camera or their phone), purposely looking at what others are writing? Or, to take it further, watching other people write text and then memorizing that information for their own malicious purposes? Probably not that many. I suppose a possible solution would be to keep your phone in a pocket, and carry a wireless keyboard with you everywhere you go. That could be inconvenient at times, but no one would see what you write.
Finally, my greater issue with BSI is it not correctly interpreting the letters and words I write. I use screen away mode, and regularly have to recalibrate my dot positions, or change between uncontracted and contracted braille in order to get the right information entered. Furthermore, several of my letters are misinterpretted by BSI and written as other letters, such as P or R for S. Or, Q for T. When writing in contracted US braille, this creates problems since I enter people or rather for so, or quite for that. I often have to switch between entering text with the virtual keyboard, predictive text and BSI in order to complete long blocks of text. And yes, I have reported the issue to Apple Accessibility. I did get the generic acknowledgement of my message, but I have also gotten direct feedback that they appreciated my details and would forward my information to the appropriate team.
Perhaps going forward, iOS 17 updates will fix some of these issues we are having. If people are really concerned about their text being displayed on-screen, the more of you who report it to Apple, the more attention those issues will get. If anyone else is having the translation issues I have experienced, definitely report those. In my mind, those are more important than someone reading what I'm typing, but to each their own.

Not sure if the mbraille third-party braille keyboard is still available, but perhaps it doesn't display letters. I realize it would take a bit of relearning but it might help with your concern.

I agree that it's unacceptable that the print in BSI displays. When I'm sitting across a large table from my boss, and I want to take a note, or something, She can easily see what I'm writing. Even worse, I've had people sitting across from me on the bus exclaim how neat it is to see how my fingers are making all those letters and words.

For the most part, I hold the phone facing down, so that the screen is looking at my lap. If there's a table in front of me, I'l; lower my hands so that the phone is under the table.

I did try one solution that involves screen curtain. I used the commands and assigned one of the backtap gestures to toggle it on and off. Still clunky, but I use it sometimes. There should just be a setting built in so that text just doesn't display when BSI is on. It serves no purpose to a blind user.

As for the issue someone raised with BSI not interpreting finger placement correctly, I too find this very problematic. Both issues are real, both are concerning, and both should be reported to Apple. I intend to do that later today. Please don't assume that if a problem isn't the one affecting you, that it's not the real problem with BSI.
As a matter of fact, I wish Apple would create a setting where the phone would switch out of BSI when I turn it back to portrait mode. That would speed things up for me. A setting though, so that it could be a choice for those who want it.

This big deal really isn't a big deal. There is no way or switch to turn off the letters being shown thrwhgh bsi. Yes, each character is shown but only letter by letter. No sighted person is looking and able to see say a password especially since they aren't looking over your shoulder. As someone who used to have low vision, I wasn't worried about what others saw because I was always to close to my device for anyone to see anyway.

If you really care about this, phone apple accessibility. personally I don't care if people see what I'm writing.

Another idea is to just use the normal keyboard.

First, sorry to Brad, I edited this because right after posting, I realized that I attributed all the not so helpful comments to you. That was a mistake, and I have fixed the subjec! line.

Great that you don't care if other people can see what you're typing. I, on the other hand do, since in my professional life, I find myself working on confidential projects, and in my personal life, I value my privacy.

When BSI translates words, they do show up on screen. When sited people ask me why I said a particular thing in a text, I think that however the letters are showing up, they can read most, if not all of what I'm typing.

BSI is much faster than the regular keyboard. That's why I choose to use it.

And just to be clear, BSI is a problem for my use-case, and obviously for others. even if it isn't for you.

I'm personally not experiencing the focus bug that's plaguing so many users on this site, but I'm also not about to tell them it's not a problem, and they should just call apple. I think this community is here to be supportive, and exchange ideas and talk about issues. Would be great if we could stic' to more of that and less of the your problem isn't my problem, so it's not a problem kind of responses.

I've noticed you changed the title of your last post, that's fine, but you need to understand that if we can't help you, we can't help you.

The only suggestion we can give is to call apple accessibility.

If your job is so private, turn on screen curton and deal with the fact you're going to have to do this until apple does something about it, which they probably won't do because everything you output is going to output into print, that's just how this system works.

Did you see in my original comment Brad where I had already indicated that I'd be calling Apple Accessibility? Also, I wasn't asking anyone on this forum to help me, just to point out that I to am experiencing this issue, and that it's a legit issue. I made the post because of all the people discounting the concern of the original poster.

I'm well aware that nobody on this forum has a solution. I was simply asking that the problem not be poopooed by those for whom it's not a concern for there use-case.

As far as your rather snarky comment about if my job is so private, I should just use Screen curtain and get on with it, that's exactly what I'm doing. That doesn't deligitimize my concerns, nor that of the original poster.

So, to sum up, not anywhere here have I asked for help, just trying to discuss a concern.

I wasn't being snarky at all, you chose to take it that way.

No, I didn't read your comment about apple being called, I'll read through threads better next time.

I didn't know about that. I hope we have a setting to turn it off for privacy reasons.
I personally don't feel this because I'm always with screen curtain on, but there are low vision users out there who may benefit from such a simple change.