With iOS 8 and later, you can add third-party keyboards to your iPhone and iPad. This opens up the possibility of using excellent iOS keyboard alternatives such as SwiftKey, GBoard, Grammarly, and more. This tutorial will show you how to install, enable, and use third-party iOS keyboards.
We’ll also touch on related privacy concerns and steps to remove the keyboard if you want to go back to the default option.
How to Add Third-Party Keyboards on iPhone and iPad
After you’ve downloaded and opened a third-party keyboard app of your choice from the App Store, it should guide you through the setup process. But if you can’t follow it, or get stuck, the following steps should be able to help.
Scroll down, and under Third-party keyboards, select the new keyboard you want to add.
Tap the name of the keyboard and enable Allow full access. Most third-party keyboard apps require full access to function properly.
You have successfully added a third-party keyboard app to your iPhone or iPad. The next section shows you how to use it.
How to Use Third-Party Keyboards on Your iPhone
Press and hold the globe icon and select your keyboard. Please note that the globe icon may appear as emoji only if the standard keyboard and emoji keyboard are added to the list of your iPhone keyboards.
If you just tap on the globe icon, you can quickly flick through your different keyboards.
How to change the order of your iPhone or iPad keyboard
If you’re multilingual, you might want to use more than one keyboard on your iPhone or iPad. For example, depending on the conversation, you may want to switch between the third-party English keyboard and the built-in Spanish keyboard by tapping the globe icon.
If you have multiple keyboards listed, arranging them the way you like them can help you be more productive. Here’s how to rearrange your iPhone or iPad keyboard.
Privacy Concerns About Third-Party iPhone Keyboards
When entering sensitive information like passwords, your iPhone or iPad will refuse to use third-party keyboards and only show the Apple keyboard, even if you’ve removed it from your list of added keyboards. Similarly, when you use the keyboard on the iPhone lock screen, such as when replying to a notification, it will always use the Apple keyboard instead of third-party keyboards.
However, once you’ve manually unlocked an iPhone by its passcode or Touch ID, or have your iPhone with Face ID automatically unlocked when you pick up the device, you’ll be able to access third-party apps on the lock screen. Can use keyboard.
Most third-party keyboards require you to allow full access. Once you do this, the keyboard app can use your device’s Internet (cellular or Wi-Fi) connection. This means that it technically can send your typed content to the developer. Apps like SwiftKey require full access to offer personalized predictions, save your predictions, create your own typing map to adjust virtual key positions, meaningfully complete your sentences, and more.
But the possibility of a sketchy iOS keyboard app can’t be ruled out by taking what you type and transmitting it to the developer’s servers. As mentioned, Apple’s keyboard will automatically turn on when you type the password. But besides passwords, there are many sensitive things we type in daily, such as your email, home address, and secrets about yourself.
So, before you fall for any flashy keyboard app, make sure you do your research. Use the Developer Website option below the app’s description in the App Store to visit their site and view their Privacy Policy. Do not install the app if you are unsure about it. And if you’ve already done so, the steps to remove third-party keyboard apps are easy.
How to Remove a Third-Party Keyboard from an iPhone or iPad
Once you fall in love with a third-party keyboard, you might get annoyed when the standard iOS keyboard pops up when you start typing something. To fix this, you need to remove the Apple keyboard from the list of added keyboards.
Alternatively, if you no longer want to use a particular third-party keyboard on your iPhone, the steps to remove it are easy.
Another thing you can do is to remove the app from your iPhone or iPad that you are using the keyboard from. To do this, long press the app on the Home screen or App Library and tap Delete app > Delete app > Delete.
Third-Party Keyboards on iPhone and iPad
This way you can use third-party iOS and iPadOS keyboards downloaded from the App Store.
They can be fun to use and surprisingly productive. For example, SwiftKey offers a handy clipboard that sits inside your keyboard.