Hello.

Which Android OS keyboard software you are using?
And why?

--
Kirill Ivanov
kirillivanovinusenet@gmail.com -- Russia

Kirill Ivanov scriveva il 17/06/2024 :
> Hello.
>
> Which Android OS keyboard software you are using?
> And why?

Heliboard:

https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard

Open source, very customizable, possibility to add glyde typing,
respectful of privacy.

--
Henry The Mole
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

Henry The Mole wrote on Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:22:10 +0200 :

> https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard

Helium Keyboard
https://f-droid.org/packages/helium314.keyboard/
https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard/releases/tag/v1.3
https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/helium314.keyboard

Name: HeliBoard_1.3-release.apk
Size: 21421991 bytes (20 MiB)
SHA256: CFCC1EEEE7A5466034F01B34C97554907DF397847771A4CC7DDBE9DED35E4B85

HeliBoard is a privacy-conscious open-source keyboard, based on AOSP /
OpenBoard. Does not use internet permission, and thus is 100% offline.

Features:
Add dictionaries for suggestions and spell check
build your own, or get them here, or in the experimental section
additional dictionaries for emojis or scientific symbols can be used to
provide suggestions (similar to "emoji search")
Customize keyboard themes (style, colors and background image)
can follow the system's day/night setting on Android 10+ (and on some
versions of Android 9)
can follow dynamic colors for Android 12+
Customize keyboard layouts (only available when disabling use system
languages)
Multilingual typing
Glide typing (only with closed source library)
library not included in the app, as there is no compatible open source
library available
can be extracted from GApps packages ("swypelibs"), or downloaded here
Clipboard history
One-handed mode
Split keyboard (only available if the screen is large enough)
Number pad
Backup and restore your learned word / history data

Looks nice for keyboard layout & for assured privacy.

The main problem I have with it, after I installed HeliBoard, is there is
no voice input, by default. Maybe voice input can be added later somehow?

Il 17/06/2024, Andrew ha detto :

> The main problem I have with it, after I installed HeliBoard, is there is
> no voice input, by default. Maybe voice input can be added later somehow?

You can set voice input icon in toolbar from HeliBoard Settings ->
Toolbar.

--
Henry The Mole
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

Henry The Mole, 2024-06-17 11:22:

> Kirill Ivanov scriveva il 17/06/2024 :
>> Hello.
>>
>> Which Android OS keyboard software you are using?
>> And why?
>
> Heliboard:
>
> https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard

On F-Droid:
<https://f-droid.org/packages/helium314.keyboard/>

Looks very similiar to GBoard.

> Open source, very customizable, possibility to add glyde typing,
> respectful of privacy.

Swype input needs a proprietary library to be loaded (as explained in
the README.md of the project), but it works fine then.

Thanks for the hint - very useful!

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Henry The Mole wrote on Tue, 18 Jun 2024 07:53:33 +0200 :

>> The main problem I have with it, after I installed HeliBoard, is there is
>> no voice input, by default. Maybe voice input can be added later somehow?
>
> You can set voice input icon in toolbar from HeliBoard Settings ->
> Toolbar.

Maybe there's a trick I'm not seeing yet as I already have a microphone
with my OpenBoard keyboard so I know that it works just fine normally.
<https://i.postimg.cc/zvw1MYST/heliboard03.jpg>

But when I set the keyboard to HeliBoard, the microphone disappears.
<https://i.postimg.cc/fyYwN9Zt/heliboard02.jpg>

I opened the HeliBoard app. It brought me to "HeliBoard Settings".
The microphone was already turned on.
But the microphone doesn't show up in the HeliBoard keyboard.

Do I need to set something else to get the HeliBoard mic to show up?
<https://i.postimg.cc/rFLV9QCS/heliboard01.jpg>

Henry,

> Heliboard:
> ... respectful of privacy.

Any reason why it would need the READ_CONTACTS permission ?

"READ_PROFILE allows you to access the device user's personally-identifying
data."

( https://developer.android.com/identity/providers/contacts-provider )

That doesn't really sound privacy-friendly ...

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Running graphene OS. For a reason.

R.Wieser wrote on Tue, 18 Jun 2024 21:52:23 +0200 :

>> Heliboard:
>> ... respectful of privacy.
>
> Any reason why it would need the READ_CONTACTS permission ?

While anyone who cares about privacy probably knows enough to store their
personal contacts anywhere EXCEPT in the default contacts sqlite database,
Muntashirakon App Manager says the following permissions are requested
for the HeliBoard Version 1.3 (1004) I installed on my Android 13 Galaxy.

android.permission.READ_CONTACTS (which, naturally, I had revoked)
android.permission.READ_USER_DICTIONARY (which is granted)
android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED (which is granted)
android.permission.VIBRATE (which is granted)
android.permission.WRITE_USER_DICTIONARY (which is granted)
helium314.keyboard.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION (granted)

R.Wieser wrote:

>> Heliboard:
>
> Any reason why it would need the READ_CONTACTS permission ?

According to a comment on an issue/question in github

"It's for adding contact names to suggestions and spell check."

Andy Burns wrote on Tue, 18 Jun 2024 21:27:34 +0100 :

>> Any reason why it would need the READ_CONTACTS permission ?
>
> According to a comment on an issue/question in github
>
> "It's for adding contact names to suggestions and spell check."

Look here: <https://i.postimg.cc/rpJQj8vx/heliboard04.jpg>

1. Mine is turned off, by default, for some reason.
android.permission.READ_CONTACTS = dangerous, revoked

2. When dealing with permissions, it's not what the "purpose" of the
permission is that is worrisome, it's the "capability" of it (e.g.,
maybe *other* apps can make use of the data, e.g., Firebase).

3. This is what Muntashirakon App Manager says about the permission.
"Allows the app to read data about your contacts stored
on your phone. Apps will also have access to the
accounts on your phone that have created contacts.
This may include accounts created by apps you have
installed. This permission allows apps to save your
contact data, and malicious apps may share contact
data without your knowledge"

On my phone, there are no accounts. Nor are there contacts in the default
sqlite database location; but most people will have both of those, right?

R.Wieser, 2024-06-18 21:52:

> Henry,
>
>> Heliboard:
>> ... respectful of privacy.
>
> Any reason why it would need the READ_CONTACTS permission ?

THe important thing is, that the app can not send data anywhere as it
has no internet access.

> "READ_PROFILE allows you to access the device user's personally-identifying
> data."

You mean READ_CONTACTS?

> ( https://developer.android.com/identity/providers/contacts-provider )
>
> That doesn't really sound privacy-friendly ...

This permission does NOT have to be granted at all. In the app settings
of Android it is listed but disabled.

Also the app does NOT have internet access - therefore it will not send
any data anywhere, even if it would read contact information.

And finally - it is open source! If you believe the app does bad things,
review the code or ask someone you trust to do so:

<https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard>

The German "Kuketz IT-Securioty" blog also recommends this keyboard for
privacy reasons:

<https://www.kuketz-blog.de/heliboard-android-tastatur-empfehlung/>

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Andrew, 2024-06-19 05:55:

> Andy Burns wrote on Tue, 18 Jun 2024 21:27:34 +0100 :
>
>>> Any reason why it would need the READ_CONTACTS permission ?
>>
>> According to a comment on an issue/question in github
>>
>> "It's for adding contact names to suggestions and spell check."
>
> Look here: <https://i.postimg.cc/rpJQj8vx/heliboard04.jpg>
>
> 1. Mine is turned off, by default, for some reason.
> android.permission.READ_CONTACTS = dangerous, revoked
>
> 2. When dealing with permissions, it's not what the "purpose" of the
> permission is that is worrisome, it's the "capability" of it (e.g.,
> maybe *other* apps can make use of the data, e.g., Firebase).

Since Helium keyboard does not use Firebase and also does not have
internet access, this is not an issue.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Andrew scriveva il 18/06/2024 :

> Maybe there's a trick I'm not seeing yet as I already have a microphone
> with my OpenBoard keyboard so I know that it works just fine normally.
> <https://i.postimg.cc/zvw1MYST/heliboard03.jpg>
>
> But when I set the keyboard to HeliBoard, the microphone disappears.
> <https://i.postimg.cc/fyYwN9Zt/heliboard02.jpg>
>
> I opened the HeliBoard app. It brought me to "HeliBoard Settings".
> The microphone was already turned on.
> But the microphone doesn't show up in the HeliBoard keyboard.
>
> Do I need to set something else to get the HeliBoard mic to show up?
> <https://i.postimg.cc/rFLV9QCS/heliboard01.jpg>

Toolbar keys (including microphone icon) are shown pressing on icon ">"
on the left of suggestions row.
In version 2.x beta of Heliboard they add an option to auto-show/hide
toolbar or pin a specific key so it remains always visibile: despite
being a beta it's very stable, so I suggest you to update version.

https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard/releases/v2.0-beta2

Kindly regards.

--
Henry The Mole
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

Arno Welzel wrote:

> THe important thing is, that the app can not send data anywhere as it
> has no internet access.

I thought *all* android apps got INTERNET permission "for free" without
having to ask?

Andy,

>>> Heliboard:
>>
>> Any reason why it would need the READ_CONTACTS permission ?
>
> According to a comment on an issue/question in github
>
> "It's for adding contact names to suggestions and spell check."

Thanks.

The explanation is believable, and as it doesn't ask for any
communications-related permissions I am inclined to do so.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Andrew,

> 1. Mine is turned off, by default, for some reason.
> android.permission.READ_CONTACTS = dangerous, revoked

Its not about what *you* currently have, its about what *we* would be
getting. Regardless of if our phones have similar protections - or not.

> 2. When dealing with permissions, it's not what the "purpose" of the
> permission is that is worrisome, it's the "capability" of it

Well, duh!

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Arno,

>> "READ_PROFILE allows you to access the device user's personally-
>> identifying data."
>
> You mean READ_CONTACTS?

Well d*mn ... I mixed them up. My apologies.

I don't like the READ_CONTACTS permission either though - too much personal
info of the people I know there - who did not grant me the right to spread
it around.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Arno,

> Since Helium keyboard does not use Firebase and also does not
> have internet access, this is not an issue.

How do you know it doesn't use Firebase ? (how did you figure that out ?)

But do I understand you correctly that if an app uses Firebase it doesn't
need the INTERNET permission (and/or alike) to be able "go online" ?

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Henry The Mole wrote on Wed, 19 Jun 2024 08:25:39 +0200 :

> Toolbar keys (including microphone icon) are shown pressing on icon ">"
> on the left of suggestions row.
> In version 2.x beta of Heliboard they add an option to auto-show/hide
> toolbar or pin a specific key so it remains always visibile: despite
> being a beta it's very stable, so I suggest you to update version.
>
> https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard/releases/v2.0-beta2

Thanks for explaining that the microphone only shows up if you press the
arrow on the (otherwise empty) toolbar each time you want to use it.

<https://i.postimg.cc/X7hCw56Z/heliboard05.jpg>

I agree it's crazy to do that every single time so I appreciate that you
explained that the beta version can pin the microphone to the toolbar.

What I've always wanted though, which I haven't found yet (that works),
is for the DEFAULT to be microphone input. Does HeliBoard have that?

That is, the microphone is active as the keyboard input all the time,
unless you specifically turn it off. Does HeliBoard do that?

Arno Welzel wrote on Wed, 19 Jun 2024 08:21:33 +0200 :

>>> Heliboard:
>>> ... respectful of privacy.
>>
>> Any reason why it would need the READ_CONTACTS permission ?
>
> The important thing is, that the app can not send data anywhere as it
> has no internet access.

I *love* this erudite discussion as it's about the nuance of privacy!

Hence it's great that HeliBoard has no Internet access, for the obvious
privacy reasons, particularly when I'm using the microphone input, which is
why I don't use the Google Speech-To-Text (AFAIK) but the internal STT.
Android13Galaxy: Settings > General Management > Preferred engine
<https://i.postimg.cc/3rqCRb1p/heliboard06.jpg>

Notice I do not set it to the Google STT engine (for fear it uses the net).

One question I have is whether that Samsung STT engine uses the Internet?
Does it?
>> "READ_PROFILE allows you to access the device user's personally-identifying
>> data."
>
> You mean READ_CONTACTS?

I typically use the OpenBoard keyboard so I'm wondering what the difference
is between the OpenBoard FOSS keyboard and the Helium HeliBoard keyboard.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.softwarevalencia.openboard.inputmethod.latin>

Although there are, confusingly so, two different openboard keyboards:
<https://github.com/dslul/openboard>
<https://f-droid.org/packages/org.dslul.openboard.inputmethod.latin/>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.dslul.openboard.inputmethod.latin>
(I checked & that last one doesn't seem to be on Google Play anymore)

>> ( https://developer.android.com/identity/providers/contacts-provider )
>>
>> That doesn't really sound privacy-friendly ...
>
> This permission does NOT have to be granted at all. In the app settings
> of Android it is listed but disabled.
>
> Also the app does NOT have internet access - therefore it will not send
> any data anywhere, even if it would read contact information.

To Arno Welzel's point, by default, I don't have the permission granted to
HeliBoard (not that I have contacts in the default sqlite database either).
<https://i.postimg.cc/rpJQj8vx/heliboard04.jpg>

Of course, what matters is how the STT is done as that "might" use the net.
<https://i.postimg.cc/59HnPBxx/keyboard01.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/k5p16ccB/keyboard02.jpg>

This may be a dumb question because I do NOT know how STT works!
Do we know if Helium's HeliBoard's STT engine does NOT use the Internet?

> And finally - it is open source! If you believe the app does bad things,
> review the code or ask someone you trust to do so:
>
> <https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard>

Using Muntashirakon App Manager, I took a quick look at the permission
DIFFERENCE between these FOSS keyboard apps: HeliBoard & OpenBoard.
<https://i.postimg.cc/nLXWPwH1/heliboard07.jpg>

HeliBoard:
1. android.permission.READ_CONTACTS
2. android.permission.READ_USER_DICTIONARY
3. android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
4. android.permission.VIBRATE
5. android.permission.WRITE_USER_DICTIONARY
6. helium314.keyboard.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION

OpenBoard:
1. android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS
2. android.permission.READ_USER_DICTIONARY
3. android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
4. android.permission.VIBRATE
5. android.permission.WRITE_USER_DICTIONARY

Does anyone have a logical explanation of why this difference?

> The German "Kuketz IT-Securioty" blog also recommends this keyboard for
> privacy reasons:
>
> <https://www.kuketz-blog.de/heliboard-android-tastatur-empfehlung/>

Given I love that both are FOSS and both are said to be privacy aware,
what would be interesting is a comparison of these two FOSS keyboards:
a. OpenBoard
b. HeliBoard

Henry The Mole, 2024-06-19 08:25:

> Andrew scriveva il 18/06/2024 :
>
>> Maybe there's a trick I'm not seeing yet as I already have a microphone
>> with my OpenBoard keyboard so I know that it works just fine normally.
>> <https://i.postimg.cc/zvw1MYST/heliboard03.jpg>
>>
>> But when I set the keyboard to HeliBoard, the microphone disappears.
>> <https://i.postimg.cc/fyYwN9Zt/heliboard02.jpg>
>>
>> I opened the HeliBoard app. It brought me to "HeliBoard Settings".
>> The microphone was already turned on.
>> But the microphone doesn't show up in the HeliBoard keyboard.
>>
>> Do I need to set something else to get the HeliBoard mic to show up?
>> <https://i.postimg.cc/rFLV9QCS/heliboard01.jpg>
>
> Toolbar keys (including microphone icon) are shown pressing on icon ">"
> on the left of suggestions row.
> In version 2.x beta of Heliboard they add an option to auto-show/hide
> toolbar or pin a specific key so it remains always visibile: despite
> being a beta it's very stable, so I suggest you to update version.
>
> https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard/releases/v2.0-beta2

Since I'm not very familiar with HeliBoard yet: when long-pressing a
button in the toolbar, it get's a permanent highlight with a green
background, but nothing else happens. I can remove the highlight again
by long-pressing the same button again.

What is the meaning of this?

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Arno Welzel, 2024-06-20 11:05:

> Henry The Mole, 2024-06-19 08:25:
[...]
>> https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard/releases/v2.0-beta2
>
> Since I'm not very familiar with HeliBoard yet: when long-pressing a
> button in the toolbar, it get's a permanent highlight with a green
> background, but nothing else happens. I can remove the highlight again
> by long-pressing the same button again.
>
> What is the meaning of this?

Ok, got it:

These are "pinned" items. When long-pressing a toolbar icon, it will get
"pinned" and will stick visible even when the toolbar is closed.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Andrew, 2024-06-19 20:11:

> Henry The Mole wrote on Wed, 19 Jun 2024 08:25:39 +0200 :
>
>> Toolbar keys (including microphone icon) are shown pressing on icon ">"
>> on the left of suggestions row.
>> In version 2.x beta of Heliboard they add an option to auto-show/hide
>> toolbar or pin a specific key so it remains always visibile: despite
>> being a beta it's very stable, so I suggest you to update version.
>>
>> https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard/releases/v2.0-beta2
>
> Thanks for explaining that the microphone only shows up if you press the
> arrow on the (otherwise empty) toolbar each time you want to use it.
>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/X7hCw56Z/heliboard05.jpg>
>
> I agree it's crazy to do that every single time so I appreciate that you
> explained that the beta version can pin the microphone to the toolbar.

Just long-press microphone button in the toolbar, so it gets
highlighted. Then it is "pinned" and will stay visible even when the
toolbar is closed.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

R.Wieser, 2024-06-19 09:11:

> Arno,
>
>> Since Helium keyboard does not use Firebase and also does not
>> have internet access, this is not an issue.
>
> How do you know it doesn't use Firebase ? (how did you figure that out ?)

Because I checked the code: <https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard>

> But do I understand you correctly that if an app uses Firebase it doesn't
> need the INTERNET permission (and/or alike) to be able "go online" ?

No, but it needs to contain code to use Firebase. If you don't believe
me, see the link above or ask someone else you trust to assist you with
that.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

R.Wieser, 2024-06-19 08:54:

> Andrew,
>
>> 1. Mine is turned off, by default, for some reason.
>> android.permission.READ_CONTACTS = dangerous, revoked
>
> Its not about what *you* currently have, its about what *we* would be
> getting. Regardless of if our phones have similar protections - or not.

The contacts permission is off by default in this app and is only needed
when you enable "Suggest Contact names" in the "Text correction" settings.

Before complaining about how insecure an app is you should first check it!

Also see here - the source is available and you can build it on your own
if you don't trust F-Droid: <https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard>

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de