Credit: Justin Duino / How-To Geek

Gboard is the default keyboard on most Android devices and packs several nifty features. However, its deep integration with Google services raises concerns about privacy for many users. If you’re in the same boat, you can switch to one of the several open-source keyboards available out there that offer similar functionality to Gboard without compromising your privacy.

AnySoftKeyboard

AnySoftKeyboard is the closest open-source alternative to Gboard. It’s more privacy-respecting, customizable, and functional, supporting multiple languages (via external language packs) and various keyboard layouts, such as QWERTY, Dvorak, and AZERTY. Additionally, it provides special keyboards for text fields that require only email, URI, and numbers.

Similar to Gboard, AnySoftKeyboard also supports voice typing and gesture typing. If you aren’t a fan of gesture typing, though, you can use gestures for quick operations; the keyboard supports customizable gestures to simplify different actions. Other convenient features include auto-correction and word suggestions. Being focused on privacy, the keyboard also offers an incognito mode, which makes typing usernames, PINs, or passwords easy. You can enable it by long-pressing the enter key and selecting “Incognito Mode.” Once done, the keyboard stops storing what you type and temporarily turns off features like autocorrect and word suggestions.

AnySoftKeyboard is also highly customizable. You have various themes to choose from, with the ability to customize them per your preference. What’s also nice is the per-app tint feature that automatically changes the color of the keyboard depending on the current app.

HeliBoard

HeliBoard is another popular open-source Android keyboard. It’s essentially a fork of OpenBoard, an open-source keyboard based on AOSP, and is known for being privacy-focused and offering extensive customization options. One of its major highlights is that it operates entirely offline, requiring no internet permissions. It is ideal for those who want to keep their typing data limited to only their device.

That said, not being connected to the internet also means HeliBoard misses out on features, such as suggestions and spell check. It works around this by allowing you to add dictionaries locally, which it can then use to offer suggestions and spell check. You can get your own dictionaries off the internet or download them from the link on the HeliBoard GitHub page. Of course, the quality of suggestions isn’t comparable to cloud-backed keyboards like Gboard, but it’s a trade-off you’ve to make in favor of privacy.

Similarly, HeliBoard doesn’t have the swipe typing feature turned on by default. It requires adding a closed-source gesture library and manually turning on the feature. As for the rest of the features, there are no other compromises. You get support for multiple layouts and modes, including one-handed mode and split keyboard, as well as other features like customizable clipboard history and theme customization, so you can comfortably replace Gboard with HeliBoard.

Simple Keyboard

If you aren’t a fan of fancy keyboard apps and want a keyboard that’s minimal, lightweight, and privacy-focused, Simple Keyboard is your best bet. It’s less than 1MB in size and requires minimal permissions—only vibrate—to function. This is partly because, unlike other keyboard apps on this list, Simple Keyboard doesn’t offer features like emojis, GIFs, a spell checker, and swipe typing.

Similarly, Simple Keyboard offers only a handful of keyboard themes, with limited options for customizing their appearance. All you can do is manage your keyboards, adjust their height, and toggle certain keyboard elements and features on or off.

FlorisBoard

FlorisBoard is a modern-looking open-source alternative to Gboard. Similar to other free and open-source Android keyboards on the list, it also respects your privacy but features a cleaner and more user-friendly design, with customization options for themes and layouts. This makes it better suited for anyone who wants a keyboard that balances privacy and usability without complicating things.

With FlorisBoard, you get support for multiple languages and keyboard layouts, including split and one-handed mode. The keyboard also offers ample customization options, allowing you to configure both its appearance and behavior. Similar to HeliBoard, FlorisBoard also offers an incognito mode, which you can enable from the app’s settings, to stop it from temporarily learning new words. Other notable features include an integrated clipboard manager, gesture support, and the ability to set up a secondary keyboard layout for quickly switching between languages.

As of the time of writing, FlorisBoard is in beta. As such, you may encounter some rough edges and issues with certain features. Additionally, a few common keyboard features, such as word suggestions and spell checking, aren’t yet included. So, if you heavily rely on these features, you should wait for future versions of FlorisBoard before making the switch.

Those are your best options when it comes to open-source Android keyboards. Whether you prefer a minimal keyboard or one that offers Gboard’s features with better privacy, choose one that suits your needs best and enjoy a safer typing experience.