4 ms·

Or course they are using it. With Google even this keyboard stroke on Android is used for something.

frays 1y ago
This claim, without a source, runs the risk of being misinformation, which is a massive problem in 2025. Can you provide a reliable source to verify it?
- colonelxc 1y ago
  https://research.google/pubs/federated-learning-for-mobile-keyboard-prediction-2/ https://research.google/pubs/federated-learning-for-mobile-k...
  - dmesg 1y ago
    Thanks for getting ahead of me. I add their competitor MS doing the same even more openly: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/microsoft-swiftkey-keyboard-sharing-your-typing-data-faq-d737059d-8810-448e-b376-9af56171a37d https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/microsoft-swiftkey... Always assume companies will gather, use and share your data in all ways they legally can. The burden of proof is never on the user that companies don't milk us. Calling it "misinformation" as someone further above did is bizarre. This is the default business model of big tech.
- interloxia 1y ago
  Federated Learning of Gboard Language Models with Differential Privacy It's not nothing, but it's something. And, at least on my phone, it's not obvious if it can be turned off. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?lr&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Federated%20Learning%20of%20Gboard%20Language%20Models%20with%20Differential%20Privacy%20Peter%20Kairouz%20Zheng%20Xu%20Yanxiang%20Zhang%20Christopher%20Choquette%20Brendan%20McMahan%20Galen%20Andrew%20Jesse%20Rosenstock%20Yuanbo%20Zhang https://scholar.google.com/scholar?lr&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Fe...
  - Physkal 1y ago
    Any recommendations on android keyboards?
    - drilbo 1y ago
      I recommended FUTO keyboard in sibling comment. FlorisBoard is a nice FOSS option, but some features are still WIP. Personally, I've switched fully to ThumbKey, but that's got quite a learning curve.
  - drilbo 1y ago
    You can always opt out of using gboard altogether. FUTO Keyboard is quite nice.
    - interloxia 1y ago
      Thanks for the suggestion. It supports multi-lingual typing which in a requirement for me. I haven't checked other keyboards for a long time so perhaps that has become more common. The integration with whisper is nice too.
      - kelvinjps 1y ago
        I don't find the multilingual features as polished as Gboard, this is what prevents me from switching, in Gboard you can install multiple languages and write without having to switch and it will provide autosuggestions and spelling support based on the language you're typing without having to manually change the language
    - troyvit 1y ago
      Heliboard is another good one: https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard
- 48terry 1y ago
  Phew, thank goodness someone policed this HN comment's quip about a multi-billion dollar company. May I recommend a more ambitious target in your war on misinformation next?
  - SquareWheel 1y ago
    Whether it's aimed at large companies or not, I'd still rather not see misinformation spread. People already have poor enough understandings of what companies actually do and don't collect. There exists ongoing conspiracy theories that phones actively listen to conversations while in your pocket, despite there being no evidence to such a claim. Facts do matter, and I appreciate those that make an effort to state them correctly.
    - rpdillon 1y ago
      Yeah, the facts were stated correctly. They just didn't provide a source. That doesn't make it misinformation. It means it's a claim without a source. But to answer the question, Gboard absolutely uses your data. And it's right there in its privacy policy.
  - lwhi 1y ago
    Misinformation isn't more or less appropriate depending on the target.
mig1 1y ago
Ex-Googler here, at least in the UK, privacy was taken very seriously by all employees, we never collected data without explicit consent and never used it for anything but what the user granted permissions for.
- repeekad 1y ago
  Also ex, for a reason, everyone with ethics left, and Google “is a conventional company” now Edit: reference https://abc.xyz/investor/founders-letters/ipo-letter/#:~:text=Introduction-,Google%20is%20not%20a%20conventional%20company.%20We%20do%20not%20intend%20to%20become%20one.,-Throughout https://abc.xyz/investor/founders-letters/ipo-letter/#:~:tex...
- LunaSea 1y ago
  Didn't Google release many data collection features as an "opt-out" setting (ie: without user consent)?
- troupo 1y ago
  > privacy was taken very seriously by all employees, we never collected data without explicit consent and never used it for anything but what the user granted permissions for. Except when you literally trick people into providing their data: https://x.com/dmitriid/status/1664682689591377923 https://x.com/dmitriid/status/1664682689591377923 by pretending that your dark patterns are "explicit consent" Or except when you literally trick people into providing their data by connecting totally unrelated services https://x.com/dmitriid/status/1908951546869498085 https://x.com/dmitriid/status/1908951546869498085 and you don't stop until the person gives up and submits to you. Except when your own support explicitly says that your behaviour is tracked across completely unrelated Google services: https://x.com/TeamYouTube/status/1849952594992435493 https://x.com/TeamYouTube/status/1849952594992435493 Except when you literally sign people into user accounts automatically with most data collection options turned on. Except...

This claim, without a source, runs the risk of being misinformation, which is a massive problem in 2025. Can you provide a reliable source to verify it?

colonelxc 1y ago
https://research.google/pubs/federated-learning-for-mobile-keyboard-prediction-2/ https://research.google/pubs/federated-learning-for-mobile-k...
- dmesg 1y ago
  Thanks for getting ahead of me. I add their competitor MS doing the same even more openly: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/microsoft-swiftkey-keyboard-sharing-your-typing-data-faq-d737059d-8810-448e-b376-9af56171a37d https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/microsoft-swiftkey... Always assume companies will gather, use and share your data in all ways they legally can. The burden of proof is never on the user that companies don't milk us. Calling it "misinformation" as someone further above did is bizarre. This is the default business model of big tech.
interloxia 1y ago
Federated Learning of Gboard Language Models with Differential Privacy It's not nothing, but it's something. And, at least on my phone, it's not obvious if it can be turned off. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?lr&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Federated%20Learning%20of%20Gboard%20Language%20Models%20with%20Differential%20Privacy%20Peter%20Kairouz%20Zheng%20Xu%20Yanxiang%20Zhang%20Christopher%20Choquette%20Brendan%20McMahan%20Galen%20Andrew%20Jesse%20Rosenstock%20Yuanbo%20Zhang https://scholar.google.com/scholar?lr&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Fe...
- Physkal 1y ago
  Any recommendations on android keyboards?
  - drilbo 1y ago
    I recommended FUTO keyboard in sibling comment. FlorisBoard is a nice FOSS option, but some features are still WIP. Personally, I've switched fully to ThumbKey, but that's got quite a learning curve.
- drilbo 1y ago
  You can always opt out of using gboard altogether. FUTO Keyboard is quite nice.
  - interloxia 1y ago
    Thanks for the suggestion. It supports multi-lingual typing which in a requirement for me. I haven't checked other keyboards for a long time so perhaps that has become more common. The integration with whisper is nice too.
    - kelvinjps 1y ago
      I don't find the multilingual features as polished as Gboard, this is what prevents me from switching, in Gboard you can install multiple languages and write without having to switch and it will provide autosuggestions and spelling support based on the language you're typing without having to manually change the language
  - troyvit 1y ago
    Heliboard is another good one: https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard
48terry 1y ago
Phew, thank goodness someone policed this HN comment's quip about a multi-billion dollar company. May I recommend a more ambitious target in your war on misinformation next?
- SquareWheel 1y ago
  Whether it's aimed at large companies or not, I'd still rather not see misinformation spread. People already have poor enough understandings of what companies actually do and don't collect. There exists ongoing conspiracy theories that phones actively listen to conversations while in your pocket, despite there being no evidence to such a claim. Facts do matter, and I appreciate those that make an effort to state them correctly.
  - rpdillon 1y ago
    Yeah, the facts were stated correctly. They just didn't provide a source. That doesn't make it misinformation. It means it's a claim without a source. But to answer the question, Gboard absolutely uses your data. And it's right there in its privacy policy.
- lwhi 1y ago
  Misinformation isn't more or less appropriate depending on the target.

mig1 1y ago

Ex-Googler here, at least in the UK, privacy was taken very seriously by all employees, we never collected data without explicit consent and never used it for anything but what the user granted permissions for.

repeekad 1y ago
Also ex, for a reason, everyone with ethics left, and Google “is a conventional company” now Edit: reference https://abc.xyz/investor/founders-letters/ipo-letter/#:~:text=Introduction-,Google%20is%20not%20a%20conventional%20company.%20We%20do%20not%20intend%20to%20become%20one.,-Throughout https://abc.xyz/investor/founders-letters/ipo-letter/#:~:tex...
LunaSea 1y ago
Didn't Google release many data collection features as an "opt-out" setting (ie: without user consent)?
troupo 1y ago
> privacy was taken very seriously by all employees, we never collected data without explicit consent and never used it for anything but what the user granted permissions for. Except when you literally trick people into providing their data: https://x.com/dmitriid/status/1664682689591377923 https://x.com/dmitriid/status/1664682689591377923 by pretending that your dark patterns are "explicit consent" Or except when you literally trick people into providing their data by connecting totally unrelated services https://x.com/dmitriid/status/1908951546869498085 https://x.com/dmitriid/status/1908951546869498085 and you don't stop until the person gives up and submits to you. Except when your own support explicitly says that your behaviour is tracked across completely unrelated Google services: https://x.com/TeamYouTube/status/1849952594992435493 https://x.com/TeamYouTube/status/1849952594992435493 Except when you literally sign people into user accounts automatically with most data collection options turned on. Except...