Gboard: Don’t know how I lived without it

I am a bit mobile keyboard challenged. While I type like a maniac, I’m what anyone would call a slow texter.  I have trouble with tasks others find simple–finding the perfect emoji, as well as basics like copying and pasting.  So, for me Gboard is a major keyboard shift.

Last week, the Official Google Blog announced Gboard. Available at the App Store for iPhone and iPad, Gboard is the essential keyboard app you didn’t know you needed.  (Well, I kinda did.)

After you download the app and install the keyboard, click on the colorful little G that appears below the camera icon.  The Gboard app will allow you to search for web stuff, as well as emojis, GIFs, and more, right from the keyboards you use across a variety of applications–most importantly in your texting and email.

You can search for and send pretty much anything you find in Google–addresses, flight times, promising restaurants, videos, images, weather forecasts, news articles and more.  Search results appear in Google Card form with key facts.  And there’s more.

Gboard also features Glide Typing, a strategy that allows you to type a little faster by sliding your finger across your keyboard instead of tapping on keys.

The Gboard app is currently available in English, but Google promises more languages to come.

Regarding privacy, the App Store description notes:

We know the things you type on your phone are personal, so we’ve designed Gboard to keep your private information private.

What Gboard sends to Google:
• When you do a search, Gboard sends your query to Google’s web servers so Google can process your query and send you search results.
• Gboard also sends anonymous statistics to Google to help us diagnose problems when the app crashes and to let us know which features are used most often.

What Gboard doesn’t send to Google:
• Everything else. Gboard will remember words you type to help you with spelling or to predict searches you might be interested in, but this data is stored only on your device. This data is not accessible by Google or by any apps other than Gboard.