GridKeys

Privacy policy for GridKeys Keyboard

Last updated: 1 October 2026

GridKeys is an Android keyboard developed by Malcolm Johnson. This policy explains what the app and its optional sync service do with your information. The short version: GridKeys has no code that sends what you type to us, and what it saves stays on your phone unless you turn on sync. Two features use services built into your phone instead, and those are described below: some word suggestions, and voice typing.

What you type

As a keyboard, GridKeys handles every key you press so it can pass the text to the app you're typing in. It doesn't log your keystrokes, and it doesn't send them to us or anyone else. To correct a word, it keeps the taps for the word you're typing in memory and drops them when the word ends.

GridKeys does save text you choose to keep: what you copy (its clipboard history and pinned clips), your text replacements, and macros you record. These are stored on your phone, as described below.

Two features use services that come with your phone rather than GridKeys itself:

Word suggestions. For languages GridKeys has its own dictionary for, suggestions are worked out by GridKeys on your phone. For other languages, the word you're typing is passed to your phone's spell checker (usually Google's or your phone maker's, chosen in your phone's settings), which follows its own privacy policy.
Voice typing. When you use it, your speech goes to your phone's speech recognizer (usually Google's), which may process it online under its own privacy policy. GridKeys doesn't record or keep audio.

When an app marks a field as a password field, or asks keyboards not to learn from it (incognito or no-suggestion fields), GridKeys turns off suggestions, corrections and macro recording there, and turns off gesture trails and repeat so what you enter isn't shown on screen.

What stays on your phone

By default, everything GridKeys stores lives only on your device: your clipboard history, pinned clips, text replacements, key and gesture changes, custom images, macros, color schemes and settings. GridKeys contains no analytics, advertising or third-party tracking code.

Optional cloud sync

A future version of GridKeys will let you sync your setup between your devices. Sync is off unless you turn it on, and syncing your pinned clips is a separate switch of its own. If you use it:

Signing in. You sign in with your Google account. Google tells our server a stable account ID for you; we keep only that ID, not your name, email address or profile picture.
What's stored. The items you choose to sync: color schemes, key and gesture changes, background images, settings, and (encrypted) text replacements, macros and pinned clips.
End-to-end encryption. Text replacements, macros and pinned clips are encrypted on your phone with a key made from a sync passphrase only you know. Our server stores only the encrypted data and can't read it. We can't recover it if you forget the passphrase.
Where it's kept. On servers we run at DigitalOcean in the United States, in a database with daily backups that are kept for 7 days.
Sharing. Clips can never be shared. Other items are shared only if you choose to publish a copy, and only that copy.
Technical logs. The server keeps short-lived request logs (time, address, which part of the service was used) to keep it running and stop abuse. They never contain your synced data.

Deleting your data

On your phone: uninstalling GridKeys, or clearing its storage, removes everything it stored.

Synced data: delete your account from the app's sync settings or from gridkeys.app/delete-account. That deletes your account and everything synced with it right away; copies in backups are gone within 7 days.

Permissions

Permission	Why
Microphone (`RECORD_AUDIO`)	Optional voice typing, handled by your phone's speech recognizer (see What you type). GridKeys doesn't record or keep audio.
Fingerprint and face unlock (`USE_BIOMETRIC`)	Optionally unlocking pinned clips you've locked. Android checks your fingerprint or face; GridKeys only learns whether it matched.
Display over other apps (`SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW`)	The optional floating keyboard button. Android asks you before allowing it.
Vibration	Feedback when you press keys.
Internet	Only for optional sync. Without sync turned on, GridKeys makes no network requests.
Network status (`ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE`)	Checking whether you're online. GridKeys doesn't read or send details about your network.

GridKeys doesn't ask for access to your photos, videos or files. When you pick a picture for a key or the keyboard's background, Android's own picker opens and GridKeys only receives the picture you choose, which stays on your phone.

Services we use

Google Sign-In, only if you turn on sync, to confirm who you are.
DigitalOcean hosts the sync server and its database.
Cloudflare provides this website and its domain names.

We don't sell or rent your information, and we don't use it for advertising.

Children

GridKeys isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new "Last updated" date. Significant changes to what sync stores will also be shown in the app before they take effect.

Contact

Questions or requests: support@gridkeys.app