Keyboard extensions and third-party keyboard apps are inherently risky because they act as the direct middleman between your fingers and your device. When you type, these extensions process every single keystroke, meaning a compromised or poorly coded extension can function exactly like a malicious keylogger. This gives developers or hackers potential access to your passwords, credit card numbers, and private chat histories. The Security Risks of Keyboard Extensions
Third-party keyboards (such as custom mobile layouts, AI-assisted typing tools, or grammar checkers) introduce major privacy liabilities:
Full Access Permissions: Many mobile keyboard extensions require you to toggle on “Allow Full Access.” This permission grants the app the ability to transmit your keystrokes to a cloud server for processing.
Data Exfiltration: If a developer has malicious intent, or if their cloud servers suffer a data breach, your typed history can be stolen.
Supply Chain Attacks: A keyboard extension that is perfectly safe today can be sold to a malicious buyer tomorrow, or its code repository can be hacked, pushing a silent malware update to your device.
Poor Security Engineering: Even well-meaning developers can accidentally leak your cached data via unencrypted network requests or insecure cloud storage. How to Protect Your Private Data
You do not have to abandon custom typing features entirely, but you must actively manage your settings to stay secure. 1. Stick to Native System Keyboards
The safest approach is to use the default keyboard built into your operating system (Apple iOS, Google Android, Microsoft Windows, or macOS). These native tools are deeply integrated into the device hardware and process your typing data locally using secure hardware enclaves. 2. Audit and Restrict Permissions
If you choose to use a third-party keyboard extension like Grammarly, carefully manage its reach:
Deny Network Access: Disable “Allow Full Access” in your phone’s settings if the keyboard does not strictly require internet connectivity to function.
Automatic OS Disabling: Modern operating systems like iOS will automatically force-switch your keyboard back to the secure system default whenever you click into a password or financial entry field. Ensure you never type credentials into a third-party app if this fail-safe fails to trigger. 3. Vet the Developer Thoroughly
Before downloading any keyboard extension, apply strict criteria:
Download exclusively from official stores like the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Look for open-source keyboard extensions. Their source code is publicly audited by independent security researchers.
Avoid niche, “quick and dirty” emoji or font extensions that request extensive device permissions without a clear functional reason. 4. Deploy Broader Security Layers
Protect your text entry fields by hardening your entire device environment:
Safeguard what you type on your keyboard – Kaspersky support