I'd rather do without than use Gboard. lol Thanks for the recommendations. I wish we could just load our own emojis into the keyboard or OS, although that could introduce an attack vector. Might just build a FOSS emoji app. Would require switching apps, but could still be less cumbersome than going through some of these keyboards.
the stock keyboard has always been lacking, same with photos. if i recall correctly gos thought about shipping with florisboard but there was a licensing disagreement that prevented it. it's very cool and has a complete emoji set, though fyi stock gos anf florisboard both cause a tagging/crash issue on amethyst.
you can use gboard if you turn off network connection. i recommend keeping florisboard for the emojis and using 'unexpected keyboard' as a primary keyboard.
https://github.com/Julow/Unexpected-Keyboard
for gallery, i used to recommend "simple gallery" but since formerly privacy-respecting "simple apps" recently sold out to a non-privacy-respecting company, i recommend checking out "Aves" gallery
hope this helps
Discussion
awesome. i agree, and same. no gboard for me. switching keys it pretty quick between florisboard and unexpected. you don't leave the keyboard screen, so it's like 3 taps and back, all from the same screen, so you'd have your work cut out for you if you want to make an emoji app that is faster to use.
making it a keyboard would likely be the fastest way to switch but i don't see where it would be different than tapping the keyboard icon on your keyboard and switching between floris and unexpected keyboards, but ofc i don't know exactly what you're thinking about making.
anyway, i do know when unexpected adds a full emoji set, it will be my only installed keyboard.
Are you guys just playing it safe with the potential that graphene has unknown bugs in it's app sandboxing and network shutoff security? Maybe I'm being too trusting.... 😕
Not any more than usual. As far as Gboard is concerned. i don't trust Google or any other closed source keyboard for that matter. i don't want it phoning home by granting it network access.
Gboard collects various types of user data to improve its features and personalize the keyboard experience. Specifically:
Typing data: Gboard collects data on the words, phrases, and characters users type to improve predictive text and spelling/grammar corrections. However, Google claims it does not retain or send any data about individual keystrokes.
Language data: It collects information on what languages users switch between to enhance multilingual typing support.
Device & account data: Basic device information and Google account details are collected for personalization and to sync settings/data across devices.
Usage data: Data on how users interact with the keyboard, what features they enable/disable, and for how long they use it each day.
While this data collection aims to improve the user experience, it does mean Gboard knows a significant amount about a user's typing habits and patterns.
Google says Gboard's data collection is "anonymous" but we all know that's not really anonymous.
I'm especially cautious about keyboard apps because they are useful keyloggers. It wouldn't take much for a closed app to secretly collect all text, and text is super cheap to store and transmit. I trust their sandboxing just fine, but sandboxing doesn't solve every problem and shouldn't be used as a crutch or excuse to install software that is likely to be dangerous.
The idea, in my opinion, is to have the sandboxing for apps you generally trust just in case. Not to install bad software like Gboard.
At least not when there are viable alternatives.