Likho Malayalam Keyboard by Waveclues is an Android keyboard for typing Malayalam: Malayalam letter keys, Malayalam from English letters, handwriting, themes, text art and wallpapers. It has no account, no server, no analytics and no ads, and it does not send what you type anywhere. This policy describes version 1.0.0, which is being prepared for Google Play.
1. What you type
Like every Android keyboard, Likho sees what you type, because that is how text reaches the app you are typing in. It does not keep your messages or a log of your typing. To suggest words, turn English letters into Malayalam and correct spelling, it reads the word you are typing and the text just before the cursor, in the moment. Typing, suggestions and the Malayalam engine all work on your phone without the internet.
If Learn my words is on, which it is by default, the app remembers the words you type and which word tends to follow which, so that its suggestions fit you. It also remembers the Malayalam spelling you pick for a word written in English letters and the words you add yourself in Settings. That list stays on your phone. It is not a record of your messages, though a word you type often, such as a name, can be in it. Turn it off, or tap Forget learned words, in Settings.
Password fields get none of this: no suggestions, no learning and no clipboard capture. Nothing is learned from any field that asks keyboards not to learn from it, such as private browsing.
2. Information the app holds
- Your current theme, your saved designs and your favourites, your settings and your chosen stylish text style, stored on the device.
- Learned words, as described above.
- Clipboard history, if it is on, which it is by default: the text you copy while Likho is your keyboard. Items are removed after one hour unless you pin them. Copies that Android marks as sensitive, such as passwords, are not kept. Turn it off, or clear it, in Settings; turning it off also deletes what it kept.
- Recent emoji.
- Stickers you send: a temporary image in the app's cache.
- Trial and purchase status: when your free day started and whether the keyboard is unlocked.
- Background photos, if you choose them: a copy in the app's private storage. You pick a photo through Android's own photo picker, so the app sees only that picture and needs no access to your gallery.
- The Malayalam handwriting model, if you choose handwriting and agree to download it.
3. What leaves the device
Likho sends nothing to us. There is no account, no cloud sync, no analytics, no advertising and no crash reporting. Android's automatic cloud backup is switched off for this app, so what it holds is not copied to a Google account.
The one network use is the handwriting model. If you choose handwriting, Likho asks before downloading Google's Malayalam handwriting model (about 3 MB) from Google's servers, once. Like any download, that request reaches Google; it contains no text you have typed or written. After that, your handwriting is read on your phone and never sent. Usage statistics that the handwriting library would otherwise send to Google are blocked inside the app. This is the only reason Likho has an internet permission.
Text, text art and stickers go only to the app you are typing in, when you enter or send them. That app's own policy then applies. The microphone button switches to your phone's own voice keyboard (for example Google voice typing), a separate app with its own policy; Likho does not record audio.
4. Permissions
Besides being a keyboard, the app asks Android for vibration, for key presses; setting the wallpaper, used only when you tap a button on the Wallpapers tab; and internet and network status, used only for the handwriting download above. It does not ask for your contacts, storage, microphone, camera or location.
5. Trial and purchase
Likho is free to install, with one free day from when you first use it. After that it stops typing until you make a one-time purchase, ₹199 in India, or switch to another keyboard. The purchase runs through the Google Play app on your phone and is handled by Google under its own policy. Likho asks the Google Play app whether you have bought it, and never sees your payment details.
6. Children
The app is not made for children under 13 and does not knowingly hold information about them. It holds nothing beyond what is listed above, for anyone.
7. Deleting your data
Settings can forget your learned words, clear your clipboard history, remove pinned clipboard items and clear recent emoji. Uninstalling the app removes everything it holds.
8. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date, and described in the app's update notes on Google Play.
9. Contact
support@waveclues.com.