Want to disable spell check in Google Docs iOS app? Read this

∙ Currently, there is no way to disable spell check in Google Docs app for iPhone or iPad.
∙ None of the tips available online are working.
∙ You can send feedback and wait for the app’s update.

Recently, I have closed my Notion account and switched to Google Docs.

With the arrival of pageless mode, the Google Docs app for iPhone and iPad has become a fully fledged note-taking app, not just a mobile document previewer.

There is just one little irritating thing that currently can’t be fixed – automatic spell checking suggestions. I believe this problem is common to iOS and Android-based Google Docs apps. You will see a tiny red or blue dotted underline under every wrongly spelled word. It’s different from system spell checking suggestions, as it’s provided by Google.

Disable spell check in Google Docs mobile app – these 4 ways don’t work

Disable spell check in the app – there is no such option in the Settings section of Google Docs iOS app (version 1.2022.12202, March 30, 2022). 

Turn off spell check on a computer – official Google Docs support pages say that to spellcheck a document, you should open this document on a computer. It suggests that if you disable spelling suggestions on your computer, it will also be gone in the mobile app. It won’t. I have tested it today, and here is another proof.

Disable autocorrection in iOS keyboard settings – this tip doesn’t address the issue: iOS Settings » General » Keyboards » Disable “Auto-Correction” and disable “Check Spelling.” Spell checking in Google Docs mobile app does not rely on system settings, regardless of which keyboard you currently use to write a text.

Change the language of the Google Docs app – I thought that changing the preferred language of the Google Docs app (iOS Settings » Docs » Language » Change the preferred language) would make the spelling suggestions disappear. No, there is no effect.

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It turns out, you will have to live with spelling suggestions until Google finds it important enough to change it. You can speed things up by sending a request via the Google Docs app built-in feedback:

Open hamburger menu in the top left, then “Help & feedback,” then “Send feedback” link at the bottom. You can paste and send this text:

Please add a setting to disable autocorrection and spelling suggestions in Google Docs mobile app. Thanks!

For the time being, you can either accept the presence of spelling highlights or correct the words as you type.

To correct a misspelled word, simply tap it, and a top menu will display a spelling suggestion. Alternatively, you can use spelling suggestions provided by the keyboard.

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Keep exploring. Here are other tips and how-to guides:

[gu-archive number=5 tag=”tips”]