This podcast explores the privacy concerns surrounding keyboard apps on smartphones. It discusses different types of keyboards and their uses, the security risks of third-party keyboard apps, privacy concerns with Apple and Google keyboards, and the impact of keyboard apps on device privacy.
20:09
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Quick takeaways
Phone keyboards can compromise privacy, so choosing a trustworthy one is crucial.
Different types of keyboards, including third-party options, have varying levels of privacy implications.
Deep dives
The importance of keyboard privacy
The podcast highlights the potential privacy risks associated with phone keyboards. While many people focus on securing other aspects of their phones, such as using private messengers, the keyboard can still compromise their privacy. Different keyboard apps have varying levels of privacy implications, with some sending keystrokes to centralized servers. Users need to consider the trustworthiness of the developer, understand how data is handled and transmitted, and be cautious of permissions and trackers.
Types of virtual keyboards
The podcast explains the three types of virtual keyboards: system keyboards, app-specific keyboards, and third-party keyboards. System keyboards are the default ones that come with the phone's operating system. App-specific keyboards cater to unique requirements of certain apps, while third-party keyboards offer additional features like swipe typing and customization. Examples of popular third-party keyboards are mentioned, such as G-board, SwiftKey, Flexi, Grammarly, and Bitmoji.
Privacy concerns and alternative options
The podcast explores the privacy concerns related to third-party keyboards, including trust in developers, data handling and transmission, permissions, and trackers. It also discusses the privacy implications of system keyboards provided by Apple and Google. For enhanced privacy, alternatives like GraphineOS with its built-in system keyboard and some open-source third-party keyboards like Microsoft's keyboard and Openboard are recommended. However, users are reminded to stay vigilant, as app updates can change permissions and privacy practices.
How private is your phone keyboard? Smartphones allow us to intimately communicate, do sensitive work, and access the world around us by tapping on a screen: The gateway to this world is the keyboard. It’s where we type our searches, our credit card details, our passwords. You'd better hope the keyboard you're using is private, and not sending off your keystrokes somewhere else.
In this video we dive into keyboard privacy, and dive into some of the most private and least private keyboard options.
00:00 Intro 01:10 Virtual Keyboards Explained 02:21 Third-Party Keyboards 03:05 How to Tell if a Keyboard App is Safe 06:26 These Keyboards Leak Your Data! 08:12 Apple’s iOS Keyboard 11:04 Google’s GBoard 12:51 MORE PRIVATE OPTIONS 13:02 Graphene OS 14:22 AnySoftKeyboard 14:50 OpenBoard 15:18 FlorisBoard 15:30 SimpleKeyboard 16:00 Fleksy 16:42 Stay Vigilant 18:00 YES IT'S OK THAT I PRONOUNCE DATA THIS WAY
A third-party keyboard app isn’t just something you should add to your phone because it offers some cool features. It’s a critical decision that can undermine the privacy of your entire device. Choose wisely.
Special Thanks to for their wonderful contributions to this piece! Brought to you by NBTV team members: Lee Rennie, Cube Boy, Sam Ettaro, Will Sandoval Scrut1ny, Reuben Yap, Alex Baer, and Naomi Brockwell