Keyboard
If I revoke the network permission for the keyboard, will it continue to learn my typing habits?
Javcek Seems to learn for gboard for me but I may be wrong. Predictions aren't enabled yet for Florisboard yet so I will switch to it when enabled. Until then, I use gboard with no network permissions.
VAULT Been trying different kb and just installed OpenBoard... Love it!!! Got everything I was looking for. @User2288 Thx for suggesting!
Yeah, you're welcome. I felt the same, I felt it checked a lot of boxes. Specially the "secondary" functions it has is really useful. Don't have to "switch" for many common characters. I think even Gboard doesn't have this.
Javcek If I revoke the network permission for the keyboard, will it continue to learn my typing habits?
Yes. Keyboards that "learn" learn regardless of whether they have internet or not. But some of them "learn" for your sake, and some of them "learn" for their own sake, which means it surveils you and reports on you. Gboard "learns" and helps you, but also will upload your habits the first chance it connects to the internet. So after using it for a while, if you happen to accidentally give it internet access, or if it finds a way through "Inter Process Communication" it will upload everything its been collecting on you. With privacy respecting boards you don't have to worry about that.
Prediction and different language support is something you'd have to try with each board to see how they support that. Corporate keyboards like Microsoft or Google boards are gonna be the best at advanced features and extra languages.
- Edited
I am not a big fan of the AOSP keyboard, OpenBoard and similar because they all lack one of the keyboard layouts that I use (phonetic Russian). Only Gboard seems to have that.
User2288 Gboard "learns" and helps you, but also will upload your habits the first chance it connects to the internet
Isn't there a setting that allows you to disable that?
Also it should be noted that Gboard seems to not connect to Google account in any way, so all of the data it sends should be anonymous.
nid Gboard seems to not connect to Google account in any way
It does link to your Google account if you're logged in.
If you're not logged in, but GSF is installed, it will still create and maintain a profile to learn your typing habits and link to your Advertising ID.
If you're not logged in, and GSF is not installed, it still learns your typing habits to help Google "improve" their products.
Disable networking on GBoard. You won't get the GIF support and you'll have to set up offline speech to text. But it's worth it.
Graphite well, other sources contradict this
https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/u16p7x/comment/i4c1yiq/
The reddit post doesn't contradict. It's answering a more specific question about keylog data. What I wrote is more generic usage data. I didn't mention about opting out though, because Google has been known to ignore/reset such selections.
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/278-voice-to-text/50
Here I say,
Full keylogs going to the cloud probably isn't practical for Google though. They can build a unique profile of the words you use mostly locally, and send the metadata
Graphite create and maintain a profile to learn your typing habits
Please elaborate on this. The Reddit comment I linked earlier clearly mentions that word prediction personalized dictionary is local. (I remember even being surprised that the dictionary doesn't have any sort of syncing feature and all personalization is lost when resetting data / installing it on a different device)
nid
I can see how "typing habits" is misleading. "Usage" habits is more accurate. Sorry.
GBoard is relatively safe to use, but you just have to be very aware of how you use it. I personally block the network access. I lose GIFs, but that was another vector for Google to build a profile.
https://www.macworld.com/article/228011/googles-gboard-doesnt-send-your-keystrokes-but-it-does-leak-chicken-and-noodles.html