An iOS keyboard that takes your own API key
A keyboard with AI in it sends your sentence somewhere. Your own key changes where, who pays for it, and who can switch it off.
Worth knowing before you type anything into one.
Three places a model can run.
On the phone, where Apple covers some of it and nothing leaves. On the developer's server, where they see the text, they pay the bill, and they decide tomorrow what happens to both. Or on a key you own, where you see the endpoint and the invoice.
These are three different answers to the same question, and a keyboard should tell you which one it is giving you.
What to check.
- Where the key is stored. The Keychain and a plain settings file are not the same thing, and only one of them survives a stolen phone.
- Whether the address can change. A fixed endpoint means you can never move, no matter whose key you paid for.
- Which part makes the call. The keyboard extension or the app around it. Only one of them needs Full Access to do it.
- Whether speech is separate. Text and voice often go to different vendors, and one setting for both hides that.
- What happens with no key. Typing should carry on exactly as before. If the keyboard degrades without a key, the key was not optional.
What your own key should mean.
It should mean you can read the address, change it, and revoke the key. If the address is fixed and only the key is yours, what you have is a billing arrangement rather than control.
Where EFKey fits.
There is no model of mine, because there is no server of mine. Where Apple covers the work on the phone, it runs there. Where it does not, you bring a key: Anthropic, Gemini, OpenAI or Groq as presets, or any address that speaks the OpenAI-compatible protocol, which includes OpenRouter and your own proxy.
The address is a text field, so it can point at Ollama or LM Studio running on your own computer and nothing leaves your network. Speech has its own provider setting, separate from text. The key lives in the Keychain, and you can test the connection and pull the model list from your account before you rely on it.
Where it does not.
Bringing a key is part of Pro, and the provider bills you directly. That second part is the point rather than a catch, but it is still a bill with your name on it.
A model on your own computer only answers while that computer is awake and your phone can reach it. Off the home network, that setup goes quiet until you point the address somewhere else.
Quick answers.
Can I use my own model instead of yours?
There is no model of mine. EFKey has no server, so the AI work runs on the phone where Apple covers it and on a key you bring where it does not.
Does it work with Ollama or LM Studio?
Yes. The endpoint is editable, so point it at either one running on your own computer. Anything else speaking the OpenAI-compatible protocol works the same way.
Where is the key kept?
In the Keychain on your phone. There is no server of mine to keep it on.
Keep reading.
Ready when you are.
One conversation is enough to tell.
