What is the difference between Flikzi and Gboard?

Gboard is Google's free keyboard, with glide typing, voice input, translation and hundreds of languages. Flikzi is a paid keyboard of hexagon keys where flicks replace shift and delete, and it has no internet permission at all. Choose Gboard for breadth of features; choose Flikzi if you want a keyboard that physically cannot send what you type anywhere.

Is Flikzi a good Gboard alternative for privacy?

Flikzi requests no internet permission, so it cannot send what you type anywhere. Gboard uses the network for some features. If you rely on you rely on glide typing or voice input, Gboard may suit you better.

Flikzi vs Gboard: an offline Gboard alternative

At a glance

	Flikzi	Gboard
Price	Paid (price set before launch)	Free
Internet permission	None. No internet permission.	Yes. Uses the network for features such as voice, translation and federated learning.
Where suggestions are computed	On your phone	On your phone; model improvements are learned across devices with federated learning
Layout	Honeycomb of hexagon keys, no shift or delete key	QWERTY and many regional layouts
Capitals	Flick a letter up	Shift key
Deleting	Slide a space key left to delete, right to undelete (hold first for words or sentences); swipe a letter to delete a word	Backspace key; swipe left from backspace to delete words
Glide typing	No	Yes
Voice typing	No	Yes
Languages	English, Simplified Chinese (pinyin)	Hundreds
Foldables and tablets	Split halves with a number pad between them	Split layout on foldables and tablets
Emoji	Panel, predictions, skin tones	Panel, predictions, stickers, GIFs, Emoji Kitchen

Gboard details checked on 27 September 2026 from Google’s own pages and the sources below. Flikzi is not yet on Google Play.

Privacy and data

Google says Gboard's federated learning "doesn't send the text you speak or type to Google, but will send what it learns to Google". It runs while your phone is charging, idle and on Wi-Fi, and is on by default.

A 2022 study from Trinity College Dublin found that Gboard sent timestamped usage logs to Google, including the length of words typed and the app the keyboard was used in, tied to the device's Android ID. It did not see the typed text itself being sent. The study is from 2022 and Gboard may have changed since.

Flikzi cannot do any of this. Android only lets an app use the network if it declares the INTERNET permission, and Flikzi does not declare it. You can confirm that on your own phone in Settings, Apps, Flikzi, Permissions.

Typing

Gboard is a conventional keyboard: a shift key for capitals, a backspace key for deleting and a long-press or symbols layer for everything else. Flikzi removes those keys and gives each job to a gesture. You flick a letter up for its capital, hold and slide for the symbols printed in its corners, and slide a space key left to delete and right to undelete. Hold the space first to pick the size: the key turns amber for letters, orange for words and red for sentences.

That takes a few minutes to learn. Try every gesture in your browser before you decide.

Choose Gboard if

You rely on glide typing or voice input.
You type in a language other than English or Simplified Chinese.
You want GIFs, stickers or translation built into the keyboard.
You want a free keyboard.

Choose Flikzi if

You want a keyboard that cannot connect to the internet, and can prove it in your settings.
You like gestures: capitals, symbols and deleting are all flicks and slides.
You type English, Chinese pinyin, or both, and switch with one flick.
You use a foldable or tablet and want a split keyboard with a real number pad.

Switching from Gboard

Install Flikzi from Google Play, turn it on in Settings, and choose it as your keyboard. Gboard stays installed, so you can switch back at any time from the keyboard switcher.

Your Gboard dictionary does not carry over; Flikzi starts from its own built-in dictionary.

Flikzi vs Gboard