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Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

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Re: Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

#61

Post by jonalmeida »

Jacqued wrote: post #48
rayiner wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do users really don't care and blindly ignore all security warnings? Whenever I install an app on my Nexus 5, I click through the "this app wants XYZ permissions" dialog without reading it. Not only do I not read it, I get a little angry each time because I can't do anything with the information and it's just in my way.

Yeah this popup really lacks a way to accept/refuse some permissions based on what seems logical for the app. I would typically uncheck a lot of permissions on some apps, but since I can't do that I'll just click through if I really want it or cancel if I don't.

BlackBerry 10 has a similar implementation but allows you to choose if you want to enable that feature. When using the app, if it needs a permission you didn't grant, I believe it will prompt you again giving you the option to ignore it (at least that's how I last remember it..)

Re: Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

#62

Post by cik »

drdaeman wrote: post #27

Another keyboard that requires network connectivity, profile/contact data, call state, access to photos/recordings (eh?) and even wants to send SMS[1]. Do users really don't care and blindly ignore all security warnings? Just wondering why keyboard makers don't provide "restricted" builds of their software, that intentionally lack some features, but still serve their purpose by providing an efficient method to type a…

This is why you need to root your phone, for taking control of your permissions. I'm okay with running these things, but only once they're 'secured' within the ecosystem.

First off, Permissions Manager. Only let applications YOU designate, have access to permissions. Hint: nothing really needs to know where you are.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.infolife....

Secondly: Install a firewall. No-root firewalls are NOT a valid substitute, given that they need to be (re)activated every reboot. By default don't give things internet access, it's even logical, and user friendly.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jtschohl.a...

Thirdly, learn about your data. It's your data, and should only be sent to hosts you're okay with.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.googlecode...

Finally, blacklist hosts based on #3. Even if an application needs to hit the outside world, there's no reason that it needs to contact all hosts.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.treb.hosts

This doesn't mean that you should have trust, or even faith in these measures. But it makes things significantly more tolerable. You still have a tracking device in your pocket - but at least you have more control over it.

Re: Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

#63

Post by [deleted] »

Jacqued wrote: post #48
rayiner wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do users really don't care and blindly ignore all security warnings? Whenever I install an app on my Nexus 5, I click through the "this app wants XYZ permissions" dialog without reading it. Not only do I not read it, I get a little angry each time because I can't do anything with the information and it's just in my way.

Yeah this popup really lacks a way to accept/refuse some permissions based on what seems logical for the app. I would typically uncheck a lot of permissions on some apps, but since I can't do that I'll just click through if I really want it or cancel if I don't.

[deleted]

Re: Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

#64

Post by Gormo »

inthewoods wrote: post #44

I guess this is part of the continued move away from paid apps - but as a user, I found this confusing. Swiftkey states that their goal is to get as many people using the app as possible, so they're making it free - but nowhere do they define for their users how they are planning on making money. That leaves me thinking the one of the following: you'll be selling my data, you'll be doing in-app purchasing, you've fou…

It's beginning to seem like the best approach to selecting software is akin to the best approach to shopping in a supermarket - stick to the edges and avoid the middle. In this case, the two opposite ends of the spectrum might be viable from a security and privacy standpoint - fully-paid commercial software and completely open FOSS are both acceptable, but the middle ground of commercial freeware is best avoided.

Re: Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

#65

Post by ch0wn »

drdaeman wrote: post #34
ch0wn wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No "cloud-enabled" app without snarky comments about data sharing. Sigh. I personally like the dictionary sync across devices. Especially because I use SwiftKey for German which always suffers from terrible dictionary coverage. But what stops you from disabling all online features?

That's a valid concern, though. Why should one invest their time in firewalling their phone or reverse engineering app, when cloud sync could be put into a separate package?

That's simply a question of demand and resources required. This is certainly not a trivial task that requires engineers building it. If more people would voice these concerns it probably something Swiftkey would consider.

Re: Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

#66

Post by swiftkey »

drdaeman wrote: post #41
crazypyro wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Appears to be a localization error? Here's what it looks like in English.[1] [1] http://i.imgur.com/li8jHu2.png

Interesting. No idea, but guess so. Or maybe they have separate builds (doing A/B testing, having region-specific versions or something like that). But I guess localization error is a more probable version. Where do I report one?

Thanks for flagging this discrepancy, we're looking into it but it appears to be a translation error.

Re: Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

#67

Post by swiftkey »

inthewoods wrote: post #56
Karunamon wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd imagine the cross section of their user base which devotes this level of thought to their business model is quite small.

Probably right!

Hi, thanks for the feedback. Protecting your data and maintaining your trust is core to our mission at SwiftKey, and the procedures we have in place are under constant review. You can read an explanation from the founders about why SwiftKey Keyboard is now free here: http://swiftkey.com/en/blog/why-we-set-swiftkey-free/ If you want to find out more about how we keep your data safe, please read our Data Security statement here: http://swiftkey.com/en/data-security/

Re: Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

#68

Post by swiftkey »

dmix wrote: post #59
drdaeman wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do send raw unprocessed texts? Thanks for warning. From my understanding, unless some really tricky and CPU-savvy math's in works, it probably would be more efficient to update language model on-device then push the change. Not only it would somehow avoid (not really, but at least obscure a bit) revealing the exact typed texts, but also lower the necessary server-side processing.

The text prediction still works fine locally without the cloud feature. The data gathering is probably to refine their algorithms. Which I'd expect would include raw text input. Which in a surveillance sense is a bit scary, someone seeing your unfinished thoughts or pre-self-censorship messages.

Hi, thanks for the feedback. SwiftKey Cloud is a secure, opt-in service that allows you to safely backup your language data and sync it across your devices. We take your data security seriously and you can read how we keep your data safe here: http://swiftkey.com/en/data-security/

Re: Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

#69

Post by swiftkey »

drdaeman wrote: post #36
cwyers wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The SMS permission is so that it can read your SMS messages to use as training data for their word-completion prediction features. As to why SwiftKey doesn't strip out most of the features that makes it better than the official keyboard and sell it to a small market of people who don't want the features that are the app's actual selling point... well, that's why, those are the features that differentiate them, withou…

> The SMS permission is so that it can read your SMS messages Either it's a bug in a Play Store, or we're talking about different permissions. For me, it says (in Russian, no idea how to switch language) "Отправка SMS и MMS (может взиматься плата)" which translates to "Sending SMS and MMS (fees may apply)". Unless Google broke something with their recent permission revamp, I assume it's SEND_SMS, not READ_SMS permiss…

Hi drdaeman please can you send us a screenshot of where you're seeing the text you mention to reviews@swiftkey.net and briefly recap the issue? We'll get our Support Team to investigate for you. Thank you.

Re: Swiftkey Keyboard Android is now free

#70

Post by drdaeman »

swiftkey wrote: post #69
drdaeman wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The SMS permission is so that it can read your SMS messages Either it's a bug in a Play Store, or we're talking about different permissions. For me, it says (in Russian, no idea how to switch language) "Отправка SMS и MMS (может взиматься плата)" which translates to "Sending SMS and MMS (fees may apply)". Unless Google broke something with their recent permission revamp, I assume it's SEND_SMS, not READ_SMS permiss…

Hi drdaeman please can you send us a screenshot of where you're seeing the text you mention to reviews@swiftkey.net and briefly recap the issue? We'll get our Support Team to investigate for you. Thank you.

Sure. Sent an email.

I've also checked the installed APK, and it's certainly Google's l10n fault - the APK has READ_SMS declared, not SEND_SMS one.

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