Both Android and iOS devices will give you a privacy warning before installing a third-party keyboard like SwiftKey or Swype.

Hi Geraline! I completely understand your hesitation to install any Android or iOS app that warns that it can access everything you type, including email addresses, credit card numbers, and even passwords. But should you let that stop you from using third-party keyboards or “gesture typing” apps like Swype and SwiftKey?

The makers of Swype, SwiftKey, Flesky and other third-party keyboard apps swear that they’re only interested in scanning your typed words so they can better predict your next words. The better they know your typing habits, they say, the more precise their predictions will be.

Oftentimes, apps like Swype and SwiftKey will ask if they can send your “usage data” (encrypted and anonymized) to their servers and add your data to a giant pool of data from other users, all in the interest of boosting the accuracy of their predictions.

Even if you opt-out of such “share my usage data” options, your Android or iOS device will still dutifully warn you that you’re essentially letting a third-party app take a peek at everything you type.

If you’re paranoid about trusting a third-party keyboard with your personal data, you can always opt out of any “share my data usage” options.

So, should you be worried? The answer: it depends on who you trust.

Swype, Swifty and most reputable third-party keyboard makers promise that they’re not reading your texts nor otherwise watching your keystrokes.

This TechCrunch post does a nice job of summarizing the privacy policies of the biggest third-party keyboard developers, with most of them noting that their keyboards are specifically designed to ignore sensitive data like passwords and credit card numbers.

If you’re feeling paranoid, you can always scour the settings of any third-party keyboard you install and make sure to “opt-out” of “share my usage data” or cloud-connectivity options.

Just disable to “Allow Full Access” setting to keep a third-party keyboard for iOS from phoning home.

iOS users can also disable the “Allow Full Access” setting for any keyboard, which effectively blocks the keyboard’s ability to connect to the Internet. (Just tap Settings, General, Keyboards, tap a keyboard, then disable the Allow Full Access option.)

OK, but where does that leave us? Well, that’s up to you. Personally, I’ve decided to go ahead and trust that Skype, SwiftKey and the like will protect my usage data and look away when I type my passwords. But in the end, you’ll need to make your own decision. If you’re in doubt, don’t tap the “Install” button.

Hope that helps, Geraline. Still have questions? Let me know!

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For one thing, SwiftKey’s word-predicting keypad can be used anywhere and everywhere on Android phones and tablets. On iOS devices, SwiftKey is relegated to the single SwiftKey Note app—or at least, that’s how it’ll be until this fall’s iOS 8 update, which will finally allow third-party developers (like those behind SwiftKey) to tinker with the main iOS keyboard.

SwiftKey for Android (you can download it right here) also boasts more ways to learn your particular style of typing, as well as more customization options for the keyboard itself, such as a just-unveiled slate of colorful keypad themes.

Best of all, the Android version of SwiftKey has dumped its old price tag and gone free as a bird (although you will see in-app purchases here and there).

Intrigued? If so, read on for six ways to boost your typing speed with SwiftKey, starting with…

Note: Before you can get started with SwiftKey, you’ll need to pick the SwiftKey keyboard in your Andorid device’s “Language & Input” settings. SwiftKey does a nice job of stepping you through the process as you’re first installing the app.

1. Sync your Google, Gmail, and social network accounts

SwiftKey’s signature feature is its ability to predict the next word you’re going to type, with a trio of buttons above the keypad displaying its three best guesses.

SwiftKey will make better typing predictions once it’s connected to your “cloud” accounts.

The makers of SwiftKey say the app’s predictions will get better over time as it learns how you type, but you can also give SwiftKey a head start by (if you’re willing) letting it sift through your Gmail, your Facebook posts, your Twitter feed, and a few other of your online accounts.

Creeped out by the idea of SwiftKey sifting through your Gmail? Understandable—and no, you don’t have to connect any of your “cloud” accounts to SwiftKey if you don’t want to.

The upside, though, is that SwiftKey will stand a much better chance of, say, guessing your wife’s last name once it’s scanned your Gmail message and your social accounts.

Ready to move forward? Just tap and hold the bottom-left key on the SwiftKey keypad (the one with the swirly SwiftKey logo), tap Settings, SwiftKey Cloud, and then Account (to connect SwiftKey to your Google account) and/or Personalization (to let SwiftKey access your Gmail, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and other social accounts).

Bonus tip: Having second thoughts about SwiftKey poking around your Facebook profile or your Gmail conversations? Just head back into Settings, then tap Delete your Swiftkey Cloud Data and Delete SwiftKey Cloud Account.

2. Undock the keypad

Nope, the SwiftKey keypad doesn’t have to sit at the bottom of the screen—or at least not if you don’t want it to.

Ever wish you could make the keypad on your Android phone float in the middle of the screen? Done.

Tap and hold the SwiftKey key, tap Undock, and voilà—the SwiftKey keypad will be floating in the middle of the screen. Just tap and slide the little handle at the bottom of the keyboard to move it up and down.

You can also tap-hold the SwiftKey key and tap Resize to boost or shrink the size of the keypad, or tap Thumb (to split the keyboard in two) or Compact (to smush the keypad to one side of the screen or the other.

3. Swipe to type

Just like Google Keypad and Swype, SwiftKey will let you type by swiping from one key to another with your fingertip.

The whole swipe-to-type thing (or “Flow,” as SwiftKey calls it) takes some getting used to, but with practice, you’ll probably find yourself tracing graceful loops of words across the keypad.

Swipe-to-type was enabled by default once I installed SwiftKey. If it isn’t working for you, tap and hold the SwiftKey key (the one in the bottom corner of the keypad), tap Settings, Input Methods, then make sure the Flow option is checked.

4. Add a row of number keys

Personally, I hate having to tap an extra key whenever I want to type numbers on my Android phone’s keypad.

Ah, a dedicated row of number keys!

That’s why I love this particular little SwiftKey feature: the ability to add a row of number keys to the top of the standard keypad.

Just tap and hold the SwiftKey button, tap Settings, Layout, then check the box next to the “Number row” option.

5. Add arrow keys to the bottom of the keyboard

Tapping and hold the screen to place the cursor at just the right point in your Gmail message can be a royal pain, particularly for those of us with so-so reflexes.

Well, here’s good news: you can set SwiftKey to add a quartet of arrow keys to the bottom of the keyboard, perfect for moving the cursor with a little tap-tap-tapping.

Adding a row of arrow keys makes it much easier to place the cursor precisely where you want it.

Tap and hold (once again) the SwiftKey key), tap Settings, Layout, then check the box next to “Arrow keys.”

6. Add “emoji” to your sentences

Sometimes, nothing quite says it like a smiley face or a frown—and yes, SwiftKey can try to guess the perfect “emoji” as you’re typing, if you wish.

Tap and hold the SwiftKey button, tap Settings, Advanced, then check the box next to “Emoji prediction.”

Got more questions about SwiftKey? Let me know!

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Nice, but here’s the thing: you can actually try a little predictive typing on your iPhone or iPad right now, all thanks to a free iOS app.

Available for iPhone and iPad since earlier this year (and long available for Android phones), SwiftKey Note bills itself as a note-taking companion with a clever twist: a keyboard that—yep, you guessed it—suggests words while you type.

To send a SwiftKey-composed message as an email or a text message, you’ll need to first tap the Share button and paste it into the appropriate app.

Not only does SwiftKey try to guess the current word you’re trying to type, it also does its best to predict your next word before you type it.

Type “Hey,” for example, and SwiftKey will immediately start popping up suggestions—in my case, “guys,” “man,” and “there.”

Like one of the guesses? If so, just tap the corresponding button to paste the word into your note. Want a different word? Then keep typing until SwiftKey gets it right, as it almost invariably does.

And what about the suggested words themselves? Not bad, actually, particularly if you’re writing one of those “let’s get together for lunch”-style messages.

In one note, I started by typing “Hey there’s let’s meet up at a,” and SwiftKey immediately guessed “restaurant” when I typed the “r” key. Next, it suggested “and,” and it correctly guessed “discuss” once I typed “di.” The word “the” came next, followed by “position,” “details,” and “possibility.” “Details” was close enough, so I went ahead and tapped that button.

Of course, using SwiftKey to tap out a note takes getting used to. Indeed, I’m betting that my first several SwiftKey notes took longer than they would had I just tapped them out using the standard iPhone keypad.

But practice makes perfect, and I eventually grew better at keeping an eye on SwiftKey’s trio of suggestion buttons as I tapped out my words. The makers of SwiftKey also promise that the app will get better at guessing your words the more you use it.

The biggest problem with the SwiftKey keypad is that you can only use it within the SwiftKey Notes app. To send a SwiftKey-composed message as an email or a text message, for example, you’ll need to first tap the Share button and paste it into the appropriate app.

That’s set to change this fall, though, once Apple’s iOS 8 update for the iPhone and iPad finally grants third-party app developers (like those behind SwiftKey) access to the main iOS keypad.

By then, though, SwiftKey will be competing with Apple’s strikingly similar QuickType feature. Will there be room for both? Stay tuned.

Bonus tip

Android smartphones already let you swap out the “stock” Android keypad for a third-party keyboard such as SwiftKey or Swype, the innovative (and addictive, if you ask me) swipe-to-type app.

Click here for more iOS tips!

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