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How to use swipe or glide typing on iPhone

While third-party options were required to bring swipe or glide typing to iPhone in the past, as of iOS 13, swipe typing is now a default feature with Apple’s iOS keyboard.


Update 9/19/19:

Now that iOS 13 has arrived, there’s no need for a third-party keyboard to bring swipe typing to your iPhone. After updating to iOS 13 the QuickPath is automatically ready to use.


Swipe texting has been around for quite a while, but Apple still doesn’t offer it with its default keyboard in iOS 12. Besides being able to type with increased speed, swipe typing is really useful for one-handed typing and texting.

While there are a variety of third-party options on the market, two of the most popular to offer swipe typing are Google’s Gboard and the Microsoft owned SwiftKey.

How to use swipe typing on iPhone

  1. After updating to iOS 13 swipe on the keyboard in a fluid motion to type, you can also type normally at any time
  2. If for some reason you want a themed keyboard or want to use a third-party option that supports swipe typing, download one from the App Store
  3. Next open Settings, swipe down if needed and tap on Keyboard
  4. Tap Keyboards at the top and then select Add New Keyboard…
  5. Now tap the keyboard in the list below that you just downloaded

Now Gboard, or whichever third-party keyboard you’ve decided on will show up in the list of active keyboards and is ready to use.

Privacy

You can tap on Gboard and toggle on/off full access. As shown below in the image on the left, all third-party keyboard will have access to what you type, but turning the toggle off for Allow Full Access means that third-parties will be breaking Apple’s terms and conditions if they collect or transmit that data.

From a privacy and convenience perspective, using Apple’s QuickPath swipe keyboard in iOS 13 is great in that your data isn’t being shared with a third-party and you don’t lose the dictation button in the bottom right corner.

To use a third-party keyboard with swipe/glide functionality, tap the globe icon in the bottom left-hand corner until you see the third-party keyboard you installed.

For more help getting the most out of your Apple devices, check out our how to guide as well as the following articles:


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