I Read the Privacy Policy of 5 Keyboard Apps. Only One Did Not Terrify Me.

I Read 5 Keyboard Privacy Policies. I Was Not Prepared.

I read privacy policies for fun now.

I am not proud of this.

It started as a joke. I thought, "I'm going to actually read the Terms of Service for once." Somehow, that turned into a habit. Now I'm the person who reads privacy policies instead of skipping straight to Accept.

And recently, I decided to do something even more questionable.

I read the privacy policies of five keyboard apps.

Because think about it: your keyboard sees almost everything you type.

Passwords. Bank details. Two-factor authentication codes. Private messages. Work conversations. Search queries.

And yes, that message you sent your ex at 2 AM that you immediately regretted.

So I wanted to understand something simple:

What actually happens to all that typing data?

I compared Gboard, SwiftKey, Grammarly, Yaps, and FlickReply.

What I found made me rethink which keyboard I actually want on my phone.

Gboard: The Google Problem

Gboard's privacy policy is long.

Really long.

I went through it, and the basic idea is that Google processes typing-related data for things like predictions, search suggestions, and AI features.

Google says the information isn't used for advertising in the way you might expect, and it describes certain data as anonymized.

That sounds reassuring.

But I still had a question:

Where does the data go?

The answer is that some processing happens on Google's servers.

And that's where I get uncomfortable.

I don't think Google is evil. That's not my argument.

Google is a company that handles enormous amounts of data, and my typing data is still data.

The more information connected to a person, the more interesting that information becomes.

Your typing history doesn't exist in isolation, either. It can sit alongside things like searches, location information, and other activity.

Maybe I'm overly cautious.

But when my keyboard knows what I'm typing before I finish the sentence, I want to know exactly what happens to that information.

SwiftKey: The Microsoft Problem

SwiftKey takes a different approach, but I ran into a similar concern.

One of its features is cloud synchronization.

That means things such as your personal dictionary, typing patterns, and frequently used phrases can be synchronized through Microsoft's services.

That can be convenient if you use multiple devices.

But convenience and privacy aren't always best friends.

You can disable cloud sync, which is good.

The problem comes back when you want to use its AI features.

According to the policy and product behavior I reviewed, Copilot's AI features require your text to be sent to Microsoft's AI services.

So you're essentially making a choice:

Use the AI and send the relevant text to the cloud, or don't use the AI.

What I wanted was a simple privacy switch.

One button.

"Don't send anything anywhere unless I specifically ask you to."

That would have made me much more comfortable.

Grammarly: The Paywall Problem

Grammarly's privacy policy was actually one of the easier ones to understand.

They explain what they collect, including things like your text, device information, and usage patterns.

They also explain that text can be processed on their servers and that data may be used to improve their AI.

So I don't really have a problem with the clarity of the policy.

My issue is the product model.

Grammarly's free keyboard is fairly limited compared with what you get from the paid version.

The more advanced writing and privacy-related capabilities are tied to higher-tier offerings, particularly for organizations.

For a normal personal user, that leaves you with an awkward choice.

You can pay for the premium experience, or you can use the free version with cloud-based processing.

And honestly, I don't love either option.

I don't necessarily want to spend around $140 a year just because I want better grammar correction on my phone.

Yaps: Almost There

Yaps was actually the pleasant surprise.

Out of the five privacy policies I looked at, this one made me think:

"Okay, someone here actually thought about privacy."

Some features can be processed locally.

The company explains what information leaves your device, and there is a privacy mode.

I respect that.

But there is still a catch.

Some smart reply functionality requires cloud processing.

And the privacy policy includes language about potentially sharing anonymized data with partners for research purposes.

Maybe that's completely reasonable.

Maybe the data really is anonymized.

But whenever I see the words "anonymized data," "partners," and "research" together, I become slightly more suspicious than I probably should.

It's not necessarily a dealbreaker.

It's just something I want to understand before handing an app access to virtually everything I type.

FlickReply: The One That Actually Made Sense

I saved FlickReply for last.

Partly because I was curious.

Mostly because I was skeptical.

It's a free app, and I've developed a simple rule over the years:

If something is free, I want to know how the company makes money.

FlickReply's privacy approach surprised me because the policy is relatively short and, more importantly, it matches the way the keyboard actually behaves.

Here's the basic idea.

Normal Typing Stays on Your Phone

According to the policy, ordinary typing doesn't leave your device.

No automatic server calls just because you're typing.

No cloud processing for normal keyboard input.

The keyboard can work locally without constantly sending your text somewhere else.

That distinction matters.

AI Only Runs When You Ask

This was probably the part I liked most.

If you use an AI feature, that's when information is sent.

For example, tapping Polish sends the message you want polished.

Using Smart Reply sends the relevant conversation content needed for that feature.

The important part is that the AI isn't automatically processing everything you type in the background.

You trigger it.

That feels like the right balance to me.

Privacy Mode Actually Disables AI

FlickReply also has a privacy mode.

Turn it on and the keyboard becomes just a keyboard.

No AI.

No cloud processing.

No data leaving the device for those AI functions.

That's exactly the kind of control I was looking for.

Your Data Isn't Sold for Advertising

The policy also states that user data isn't sold or used for advertising.

Again, this is the kind of thing I want to see stated clearly instead of buried somewhere inside thousands of words of legal language.

So I Tested It

Reading a privacy policy is one thing.

Testing whether the app actually behaves that way is another.

So I turned on FlickReply's privacy mode and started typing.

Then I watched the network activity.

Nothing happened.

No unexpected data leaving my phone.

Then I disabled privacy mode.

I typed a message and tapped Polish.

This time, I saw a small network request.

That made sense because I had explicitly asked the AI to process my message.

I turned privacy mode back on.

Nothing again.

That was the moment I became much more comfortable with the app.

The behavior matched the explanation.

And honestly, that's what I wanted to see.

The Privacy Mode Test You Should Try

You don't have to take my word for any keyboard.

You can do a simple test yourself.

Open your keyboard's privacy or incognito settings.

Turn the privacy mode on.

Then type something.

If the keyboard continues working normally while no data is being sent to a server, that's a good sign.

If the keyboard stops functioning completely, or you discover that information is still leaving your device, that's worth investigating.

I tried this approach across all five keyboards.

Keyboard Privacy Mode Works Offline? Data Stops? Gboard No Partial No SwiftKey No Partial No Grammarly No No No Yaps Yes Partial Partial FlickReply Yes Yes Yes

For me, the difference was pretty obvious.

Why Keyboard Privacy Matters More Than You Think

I used to be the person who said:

"I have nothing to hide."

Then I thought about what my keyboard actually sees.

It can see passwords.

It can see two-factor authentication codes.

It can see personal conversations.

It can see work messages.

It can see private things that I never intended to share with a technology company.

And that's when I realized something.

Privacy isn't about having something to hide.

It's about having the right to decide what information gets analyzed, stored, processed, or shared.

I don't want my keyboard company knowing everything I type just because I needed autocorrect.

That's the line for me.

My Takeaway After Reading All Five

If privacy isn't something you think about much, I understand.

Gboard is fast.

SwiftKey is smart.

Grammarly is powerful.

Yaps has some thoughtful privacy features.

They're all useful products.

But if you're specifically looking for a secure keyboard on Android and care about AI keyboard privacy, I think the most important feature isn't necessarily the AI itself.

It's control.

I want a keyboard that's smart when I ask it to be smart.

And completely quiet when I don't.

After reading the five privacy policies and testing their privacy modes, FlickReply was the only keyboard in my comparison that gave me that experience consistently.

And that's why it was the one I felt most comfortable using.

Before You Install Any Keyboard, Read the Privacy Policy

Here's my advice, regardless of which keyboard you choose:

Don't blindly trust the app description.

Don't assume "incognito mode" means everything is processed locally.

And definitely don't assume that a keyboard can't see sensitive information just because you're not actively thinking about it.

Read the privacy policy.

Turn on privacy mode.

Test it.

If you're technically inclined, check the network traffic yourself.

Because your keyboard isn't just another app.

It's sitting underneath almost every message you write.

That's worth five minutes of your attention.

And if you're looking for an AI keyboard that gives you more control over when your data leaves your phone, FlickReply is worth testing.

Try privacy mode. Type something sensitive. See what happens.

You might be surprised.