But what if, down the line, Gboard changes its policy or privacy settings? Or we learn about additional ways Google sneakily collects your data from your keyboard? If that concerns you, consider using an open-source keyboard that runs completely on device, no data servers required. Unlike closed software, security experts can audit open-source programs, so vulnerabilities are found and patched quite quickly. As it happens, there are two solid open-source alternatives to Gboard. One is so like Gboard, you won’t even miss it. The second is as private as a keyboard gets.
FUTO Keyboard is a direct Gboard replacement
Credit: Khamosh PathakFUTO includes on-device AI models for text prediction and voice typing. The text prediction model works completely offline and doesn't use any online servers. In my testing, it kept up with my typing, and the suggestions were more or less what you'd expect. For voice typing, the app uses a lightweight Whisper-based model, also running on-device, with no servers involved. In my testing, I found the default model to be a bit underwhelming when compared to Gboard. Downloading the highest-tier model resolved this issue, though, and I saw voice typing results similar to Gboard. (The English-244 voice model is a 280MB download.)
Credit: Khamosh PathakIn my testing, I found that the FUTO keyboard offers a smoother, more reliable typing experience compared to Gboard. A small example is the spacebar gesture. In Gboard, you can move the cursor by swiping on the spacebar, but it’s a bit confusing for me. You hold it for a split second, and then swipe. In FUTO, swiping on the spacebar instantly moves the cursor, every single time. The downside to being completely private is, of course, that you lose out on cross-device support. Your personal dictionary, or clipboard, can’t sync between all your devices. While Gboard is a more complete package, FUTO's privacy features do make up for that loss.
HeliBoard is the Gboard alternative for security purists
Credit: Khamosh PathakThe times have changed, though, and HeliBoard has kept up, without sacrificing its open-source roots. The app promises a zero-exposure experience, asking for no network permissions whatsoever. As this is a purist’s keyboard, there are no AI features to speak of: no LLM transformer for text prediction, no AI voice typing model.
The only caveat to using HeliBoard is that it’s not available in the Google Play Store. Instead, you’ll have to download it from the F-Droid third-party app store that specializes in securely hosting free and open-source apps. But that’s easy to do, and once installed, you can explore other useful open-source apps like NewPipe, my preferred way of watching YouTube ad-free on Android.
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