Why I stopped using Google Keyboard and went all-in on FUTO Keyboard
Your keyboard is the most invasive app on your phone . Gboard is good — genuinely good — and I’m not here to argue otherwise. My only problem with it is that it’s owned by an advertising company that…
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Your keyboard is the most invasive app on your phone . Gboard is good — genuinely good — and I’m not here to argue otherwise. My only problem with it is that it’s owned by an advertising company that’d love to know everything about me.
I stuck with it for so long because I couldn’t find an alternative that matched it without being owned by another tech giant. Then I stumbled onto FUTO Keyboard , and that excuse stopped working.
Everything you type — your passwords, your bank details, and even your personal messages — passes through your keyboard first. And that’s exactly why using Gboard , or any keyboard that collects data under the guise of “usage statistics” or “diagnostics,” is a problem.
Just head to Gboard’s “Data safety” section on the Play Store and you’ll see what I mean. Sure, most of it is optional and allegedly anonymized, but that’s still not comforting. Above all, when another keyboard can match it feature for feature while being genuinely privacy-friendly, it’s hard to argue the case for Gboard.
Unlike Gboard, FUTO Keyboard doesn’t ask for any faith. While it isn’t fully open-source, it is source-available — which means anyone can inspect the code if they want to verify how the app works under the hood. FUTO doesn’t ask you to create an account simply because there’s no need. You also won’t find any telemetry toggle buried three menus deep or constant “help improve FUTO” prompts. FUTO’s approach is closer to what a keyboard should’ve been from the start: a local tool that does its job and keeps its mouth shut.
The peace of mind isn’t abstract, either. I no longer second-guess what I type. I also don’t have to think twice before typing a password or venting in a message. That mental overhead is just gone. FUTO Keyboard is also completely free, with no ads anywhere. You can pay if you enjoy it and want to support development, but the full thing is yours either way.
It’s not like FUTO Keyboard is the only privacy-friendly Gboard alternative around. There are the likes of HeliBoard and OpenBoard that also work offline and don’t collect any data. But the reason I went with FUTO Keyboard specifically is that it looks and feels closest to Gboard, and doesn’t skip any features that make you regret the switch.
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