keyboard2Home / iOS keyboard alternative
An iOS keyboard alternative that stays on your iPhone.
keyboard2 replaces the iPhone keyboard with one you can shape: predictions, autocorrect and swipe typing in 36 languages, your own themes and layouts, a smart wheel and a clipboard. It all runs on the phone, with no account and no network.
Why switch
What changes when you switch.
Apple's keyboard does the basics well. These are the things it does not do, and keyboard2 does.
- 1Themes, down to a single key. 800+ ready-made, your own colours, your photo behind the keys, any font.
- 2A clipboard that keeps every copy, text and images, as a list or a grid.
- 3Your own layout, a number row, and key sizes for portrait and landscape.
- 4A smart wheel under your thumb: swipe up from the space bar to pin a language, switch layouts or run a tool.
- 5Swipe left from delete to take whole words, and back to restore them.
Demos play on their own. Tap one, or type on the phone.
Private by design
Nothing you type leaves the phone.
Every keyboard sees what you type with it, Apple's included. keyboard2 has no servers, no account and no analytics, and makes no network requests. The dictionaries and models for every language are inside the app, so it works the same in airplane mode. Read the details on the privacy page.
Other keyboards
Gboard, SwiftKey, and how keyboard2 differs.
Gboard from Google and SwiftKey from Microsoft are the best known alternatives to the iOS keyboard. keyboard2 is a smaller, independent app made in Estonia, built around two things: everything runs offline on your iPhone, and almost every part of it can be changed. If you are coming from SwiftKey, there is a longer comparison.
Switching
How to change the keyboard on iPhone.
- 1Install keyboard2 from the App Store and open it once.
- 2Open Settings, then General, Keyboard, Keyboards, Add New Keyboard, and pick keyboard2.
- 3Tap the globe under any keyboard to switch to it. Drag keyboard2 to the top of the Keyboards list to make it open first.
- 4Full Access is optional. Turn it on only for haptics, clipboard history and photo themes.
Questions
Before you switch.
Can I replace the iPhone keyboard?
Yes. Install a keyboard app, then add it in Settings, General, Keyboard, Keyboards, Add New Keyboard. Tap the globe under any keyboard to switch to it. To make it the one that opens first, drag it to the top of that list.
Does a third-party keyboard see what I type?
A keyboard sees what you type with it, like Apple's does. keyboard2 has no servers and makes no network requests, so nothing you type leaves your iPhone. iOS always uses its own keyboard in password fields.
Do I have to allow Full Access?
No. Typing, predictions, autocorrect, swipe, themes and layouts work without it. iOS only allows haptics, clipboard history and photo themes with Full Access on, for every keyboard.
Is keyboard2 free?
It is free to download, with everything unlocked for the first hour. After that, a monthly, yearly or lifetime plan keeps the premium features.
Can I go back to Apple's keyboard?
Any time. Tap the globe to switch, or remove keyboard2 in Settings, General, Keyboard, Keyboards.