Pilcrow

Guide

How to choose a private keyboard for iPhone: six questions to ask

Published · 6 min read

A keyboard sees more of your life than almost any other app: messages, searches, notes, the names of the people you write to. Every keyboard maker says it respects your privacy. These six questions tell you what a keyboard can actually do with what you type, and each one can be answered from public pages in a few minutes.

In short. Look for a keyboard that works without Full Access, says plainly what it sends and to whom, does not need an account, predicts on the phone, lets you see and delete what it has learned, and has an App Store privacy label you are comfortable with. Then turn on Full Access only if what it adds is worth it to you.

First, what any keyboard can see

A keyboard receives every key you press while you use it; that is its job. What iOS controls is where those keystrokes can go next. Apple’s developer documentation sets two firm limits on every keyboard from the App Store:

  • Password fields and phone-number pads always get Apple’s own keyboard. iOS swaps a third-party keyboard out in any secure text field, the kind that shows your typing as dots, and in phone pads.
  • An app can refuse third-party keyboards entirely. Apple lets a developer reject custom keyboards in their app, giving a banking app as its example; such an app always uses the system keyboard.

Everywhere else, what happens to your typing depends on the keyboard. That is what the questions are for.

1. Does it work without Full Access?

Start here. Apple describes a keyboard without Full Access as running in a sandbox with no network access, and says that in this mode users know keystrokes go only to the app that is using the keyboard. With Full Access, a keyboard may also send keystrokes and other input to a server for processing.

So a keyboard that does all its main work with Full Access off gives you a guarantee enforced by iOS, not by a promise. One that needs it to function asks you to trust its maker instead. Full Access is not bad in itself; what matters is what each keyboard uses it for, which what “Allow Full Access” means covers in detail.

  • Microsoft SwiftKey requires it on iOS, because key parts of SwiftKey live in its container app. Microsoft says granting it does not mean everything you type is transferred.
  • Typewise says in its App Store listing that the keyboard does not require Full Access.
  • Gboard uses it for Google Search in the keyboard.

2. What does it say it sends, and to whom?

A good maker says this in plain words, in the App Store description or a privacy page, not only in a legal policy. Two examples worth reading as models:

  • Gboard’s listing says it sends your searches to Google to show results, sends usage statistics so Google can see which features are used and understand crashes, and sends voice input to Google for transcription if you use the microphone; other than searches and voice input, it says nothing you type is sent.
  • Typewise’s listing says none of your typing data is transmitted to the cloud, that the app uses anonymous usage tracking which an offline mode turns off, and that the keyboard itself is not tracked.

If you cannot find a clear statement like these, treat that as the answer.

3. Does it want an account?

An account is what connects your typing history to you. Some keyboards make it optional, for backup and sync. Microsoft, for example, says no language data or words you type are transferred unless you create a SwiftKey account, and SwiftKey’s backup now stores your data in your OneDrive under your Microsoft account. That is a reasonable feature; just make it a choice you make deliberately.

4. Where do the predictions come from?

Next-word prediction needs a language model. It can run on the phone, or the keyboard can send what you type to a server and get predictions back, which Apple’s rules permit for keyboards with Full Access. Look for a maker that says where its model runs. If it says “on device”, that is a design choice you can hold it to.

Apple’s own keyboard is part of iOS, and Apple says its predictions are based on your past conversations, your writing style and even websites you visit in Safari.

5. Can you see and delete what it learned?

Every useful keyboard learns your words. The privacy question is whether you can see that record and remove part of it. On Apple’s keyboard, the remedy is Reset Keyboard Dictionary, which erases every word you have added at once. Some third-party keyboards show a list you can edit. Prefer one that lets you delete a single entry, and one that lets you stop it learning in a particular field.

6. What does the App Store privacy label say?

Every App Store listing has an App Privacy section where the developer declares what data the app may collect, and whether it is linked to you. Apple notes the information has not been verified by Apple, so read it as the developer’s own declaration. As of October 2026, on the US App Store:

  • Gboard declares data linked to you including audio data, a device ID, diagnostics and other data.
  • Microsoft SwiftKey declares contact info (an email address) and identifiers (a user ID and a device ID) as linked to you.
  • Pilcrow declares purchase history, not linked to you, and nothing else.

How Pilcrow answers the six

Pilcrow is the keyboard we make, and privacy was a design constraint rather than a feature added later.

  1. Full Access is optional. Typing, corrections, predictions, learning and every downloaded language work with it off. We recommend turning it on, because it adds haptics, the clipboard panel and the app’s view of your learned words, and it cannot send what you type anywhere.
  2. The keyboard sends nothing. It contains no networking code at all, so it cannot send what you type with Full Access on or off. The Pilcrow app reaches the internet for four things only: downloading language packs, asking the App Store whether a newer version exists, verifying a purchase, and sending feedback you choose to write. Purchase verification uses RevenueCat, which receives an anonymous identifier and your purchase status, never anything you type.
  3. No account. There is nothing to sign up for.
  4. Prediction happens on the phone. Where a language has a language model, it runs on the device; nothing is sent away to be guessed at.
  5. What it learned is a list you own. Every word, phrase, spelling and correction can be read and deleted one line at a time. Don’t learn here keeps a field out of it, and password, one-time-code and card fields teach it nothing. Contacts are consulted so names are not corrected, and never copied.
  6. Its privacy label lists purchase history, not linked to you.

The full detail is in our privacy policy.

Last checked October 2026 against Apple’s developer documentation, Apple’s iPhone User Guide, Microsoft’s SwiftKey support pages, and the US App Store listings for Gboard, Microsoft SwiftKey, Typewise and Pilcrow. All product names are trademarks of their owners; Pilcrow is not affiliated with any of them. If anything here is out of date, write to info@pilcrowtype.com.

Sources

  1. Apple Developer, Custom Keyboard (open access; secure fields and phone pads; apps that reject custom keyboards)
  2. Apple, How to use Auto-Correction and predictive text on your iPhone (what Apple’s predictions are based on)
  3. Apple, Reset iPhone settings to their defaults (Reset Keyboard Dictionary)
  4. Google, Gboard – the Google Keyboard on the App Store (what Gboard sends; privacy label)
  5. Microsoft, Why does my Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard need Full Access in iOS?
  6. Microsoft, SwiftKey Backup and Sync with OneDrive
  7. Microsoft, Microsoft SwiftKey AI Keyboard on the App Store (privacy label)
  8. Typewise, Typewise Custom Keyboard on the App Store (Full Access; what is sent)
  9. Pilcrow, Pilcrow on the App Store (privacy label) and our privacy policy

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