SwiftKey now lets you customize your keyboard with your own photos

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
published

Microsoft-owned SwiftKey is adding some more ways to personalize your keyboard on iOS and Android with its latest update.

SwiftKey has introduced a feature that lets you use your photos as a background for your keyboard. Called Photo Themes, the feature bolsters SwiftKey's already fairly robust theming options with an added touch of personalization.

On top of using your own photos, SwiftKey says it has teamed up with National Geographic photographer Keith Ladzinski to provide 12 of his wildlife and nature photos as photo background options.

To get started with Photo Themes, navigate to the "Custom" portion of the "Themes" section in SwiftKey. You can then upload your own image to use as a background, toggle key borders and symbols, and adjust the background darkness.

In addition to photo themes, the latest update also adds a new batch of supported languages. Here's a look at the full release notes:

  • Photo Themes: truly personalize your keyboard by picking any photo as your background. Take your design further by resizing the photo, choose background brightness, plus toggle key borders and symbols.
  • You can now type in Griko, Khasi, Marwari, Ossetic (Iron and Digor), Sango, Samogitian, Saramaccan, Tok Pisin, and Võro.

SwiftKey has been a popular keyboard alternative on Android for some time, and it has continued to garner new features since being acquired by Microsoft in 2016. Earlier in 2017, Microsoft announced it was discontinuing its own Word Flow keyboard on iOS in favor of SwiftKey.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

20 Comments
  • That is just so wronggggg!!!
  • What's wrong? I'm on Windows, android and ios, and I read this site everyday. I appreciate this kind of articles 👍
  • Yeah picture behind your keyboard seems so lame and basic and immature.
  • Well you can put a gradient image. Or even a landscape. This way your keyboard looks lit as f**!
  • I tried this on GBoard (I think it's as good as W10M keyboard w/ better shape writing :-o ) and I wasn't convinced it looks that good having an image on there tbh. Maybe I should give it another go but I think it looks a bit off
  • I agree... It's just *** Windows phone users
  • Yeah, well, what do you expect? We are zombies at this point.
  • WP doesn't even have the capabilities to add new keyboards, anyways..... Even when MS gave half a rats ass about it they wouldn't have made this available. Who cares.
    ........
    It's not the only app WP won't be getting. Lol
  • Satya Nadella will be most happy.
  • Cool. Waiting for bitmoji integration. Hopefully soon 🙏🏻 For anybody complaining, this is a Microsoft app, and this website is about Microsoft. You want to stay on the dead platform, stay. I've been on it from the Samsung Focus to Lumia 950, now on Galaxy s8+. These articles are relevant to a lot of people.
  • God that looks awful.
  • WordFlow was so much better. :(   But that's Microsoft for you.
  • I'll be controversial here and say that GBoard has better shape writing than W10M.....It's true :o
  • I would prefer they put their efforts into making it a better keyboard.
  • Looks awesome. Anything that adds customization is welcome.. Wish I could use it on my 950. But, something like this would be cool built into W10 so any potential Ultramoble device could take advantage of it.
  • I'm looking at Android next year, and would love to keep the WM keyboard. Is this the closest I can get?
  • Try GBoard, the shape writing is actually more accurate for me and the live preview of the word above as you swipe around can make it even quicker as you don't have to even swipe out the full word
  • U ******* microsoft guys ..u are ignoring windows mobile users
  • Why. Just, why. I still can't find a decent keynoard on Android having used Samsung's, SwiftKey, and Gboard which all have functional and reliability issues and here we have pointless eyecandy being added.. Seems like a lot of products where Program Managers or devs have ADD and pander to window dressing features.
  • hey i thought u could have the keyboard on the bottom left or right corner for easy one hand swiping?  Where did that feature go?