this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2025
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Why does every mobile keyboard developer have some controversial shit? I just want to text in peace.
Anything on HeliBoard too?
The only thing I dislike of heliboard is their swipe function requires Google binaries. Most FOSS keyboards either lack some feature I use or are immersed in wild controversies.
And the implementation is nowhere as good as gboard.
Futo's keyboard isn't much better for slide to type. I find myself switching keyboards back to gboard when I'm not using voice to text or two thumbs.
I mean, I can't complain about HeliBoard's swiping feature, especially considering the alternatives.
Same, I switched over yesterday and I found it actually does all the things I was hoping for!
Reducing keyboard size, removing suggestions bar, adjusting timing on holding for symbols or numbers, emoji key, theming, and swipe typing can be enabled (its just a file that they cannot or have chosen not to install with the app, as the rest is open source as far as I understood).
Does FlorisBoard have controversial shit too?
No, but they are forever beta. They still lack a ton of features I use.
True
fossify keyboard? extremely basic, but works
May I recommend Thumbkey its awesome and a bit different from other keyboards. Its concept is interesting ✨
It looks neat but what an absolutely stupid take from a keyboard author
Butch if I didn't let it correct me I'd have to actually mook st the keyboard and who the fuck wants to do thatm.
Phones are tiny and humans are clumsy. I absolutely never mean what I type, as you can see above.
Well, ThumbKey adapts to the limitations of a phone screen, that's why it's unique. So, once you are familiar with it, you're less likely to fumble the wrong key. It takes quite some time though, at least it did for me.
I understand what they were trying to go for, but they failed..not least because they explain that below the fold.
Failed for thee perhaps, but mein hands are smol, vocab's colloquial, n' passwords often complex.. Autocorrect is the first feature that must die when I adopt devices.
For the sadist in you there's always https://f-droid.org/packages/se.nullable.flickboard
Just use Gboard and block any google telemetry
Good luck with that on anything that has a locked boot loader or stock OS.
rethinkdns works perfectly for me
Just use wireguard and block all connections that aren't going over VPN. Ezpz
Also if you're on a stock device then you're already feeding them plenty of data
Using a VPN does absolutely nothing to protect from their apps scraping up and phoning home telemetry.
It's still YOUR phone. It's still YOUR GPS location. It's still YOUR data connection. A VPN is not a catch-all solution to privacy.
VPN to your box somewhere else with proper filtering.
I figured that was obvious
That's literally not how VPNs work nor are you aware of what you're talking about.
You literally don't know what you are talking about.
You're like a computer novice that is only aware of commercialized VPN products thinking you know what you're talking about but unaware that the commercialized products are open source things that anyone can run, and you're only paying for the company to run them on their boxes.
rofl you offer no evidence, only insults. Yore a pathetic joke and you're trying to make it my problem. Move along, loser.
My comment wasn't about how open or closed VPNs are, you fucking moron. It was about how they're not a silver bullet for protecting privacy.
They are if you control the network of the egress point which is what the first person said.
And I don't need evidence for that. If you don't understand those words, you don't understand how the internet works.
What
Blocking internet access doesn't magically turn proprietary software into free software.
I know both are kinda terrible but isn't a facist-developed GPL software better than Google software