On most Android phones, the stock keyboard has internet access and sends data to its remote servers to power features like predictions, voice typing, and personalization. It’s not always clear what data they’re uploading, how much, or what it’s being used for. And while they aren’t keyloggers, exactly, it is a privacy concern.
Switching to an alternative often brings about a series of trade-offs that leave you coming back to the original. But I’ve recently started using a privacy-first, open-source keyboard that feels modern and has no such compromises.
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The keyboard that does everything locally
Keep your data on your phone
The app I’m talking about is FUTO Keyboard. Unlike many other open-source keyboards, it doesn’t look or feel like a downgrade when you’re coming from something like Gboard, Samsung Keyboard, or SwiftKey. It has a fresh, modern design and offers all the features that we all take for granted.
The best thing about it is that it runs completely without internet access. The advanced features of Android keyboards are all in place, yet glide typing, predictive text, autocorrect, and even voice typing all run directly on the phone rather than relying on cloud processing. Your data never leaves your device.
It’s free (although you can pay if you want to support its development) and open-source, and comes from FUTO, an organization committed to the principles of open tech. You can download it from the Play Store, from the open-source alternative app store F-Droid, or from GitHub, and all three versions are the same.
When you install it, you get a warning that it’s still in early development and some features may not be finished. But in my experience, it’s more than good enough for daily use. And the fact that it is still being actively developed means that you get regular updates, including some big improvements. Since I started using it, there has been a major upgrade to the glide-typing system that easily puts it on a par with anything else I’ve tested.
I expected compromises, but there weren’t many
It’s polished and feature-rich
FUTO Keyboard is surprisingly powerful. As a general keyboard app, it’s great, and the improved swipe-typing is very effective.
Voice typing is another highlight. It uses speech-recognition models derived from OpenAI’s Whisper project. You get a base model by default, but can install two larger ones (the biggest being over 200MB) if you want greater accuracy. Because they run on the device, the larger models are also somewhat slower, and if you’re on an old or low-end phone, they might not be usable for you.
I had no problems with the base model for my usage, but you’d probably want something more powerful if you want to go all-in on dictation.
Autocorrect is perhaps the one main feature that still needs improvement. It catches a good number of typos, but not all, and misses some obvious ones, too. Given that you need time for your thumbs to adapt to the positions of the keys on a new keyboard, its limitations are most obvious when you first start using it. Fortunately, the app has sliders you can adjust to change how aggressive the autocorrect is. I found some benefit to that, but it takes some trial and error to get the balance right.
And there are plenty of other features that enhance the experience. There’s a clipboard manager that supports images and has a searchable clipboard history, Undo and Redo buttons, and bags of customization options. One that I really like is the swipe to delete tool that activates when you long-press and swipe on the Delete key, and there’s pretty comprehensive theming as well, including support for your own custom themes. The keyboard is also resizable, with a one-handed mode among its options.
Aside from the autocorrect, I didn’t miss much in switching from Gboard. You don’t get things like sticker and GIF support, and the built-in translation is missing, along with anything else that uses Google’s servers. Some users have reported limitations when using languages other than English, although that isn’t something that I can speak to. And given the stage of its development, there is always the possibility of encountering bugs.
The keyboard is one of the easiest privacy upgrades
Why it deserves more attention
The transparency that comes from an open-source and offline keyboard makes switching one of the easiest privacy upgrades you can make. Keyboards can see almost everything you type across all your apps, from messages to notes to credit card numbers. Most people think carefully about which browser or messaging app to use, but their most-used app often gets overlooked.
FUTO Keyboard gives you that extra peace of mind without coming at the cost of the kinds of compromises that you often get with third-party keyboards. You don’t lose features or polish, and you don’t need to de-Google your phone or make any other drastic changes to get it. For anyone who is concerned about just how much data is leaving their phone, it’s an easy recommendation.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
