Tadak
Tadak › Keyboard sound on video calls
Can people hear your keyboard on a video call?
If you work from home and take a lot of video calls, two sounds get mixed up: the real noise your keyboard makes, and the sound a typing-sound app plays. This breaks down which one the other side hears and how to stop it, including the cases where this app's auto-mute doesn't help.
Short answer
- With earphones or headphones, the app's sound doesn't reach the mic. Play it through speakers and the mic can pick it up and send it to the other side.
- Your real keyboard noise gets into the mic regardless of the app. The app can't reduce that; mute the mic or use a quieter keyboard.
- Tadak auto-mutes while a Zoom, Teams, Discord or Skype window is active. Switch to another window and the sound comes back. More on that below.
Two different sounds
| Sound | Where it comes from | Do others hear it? |
|---|---|---|
| Real key presses | The keyboard itself | Yes, if your mic is on (nothing to do with the app) |
| Typing-sound app | Speakers / earphones | Mostly no with earphones. With speakers the mic can pick it up |
So if you want the mic muted but still want some sound under your fingers, earphones are the safe combination — for example, taking meeting notes with the mic off and hearing the sound only in your earphones.
What auto-mute does and doesn't do
Tadak mutes automatically while one of Zoom, Teams, Discord or Skype is the active window (on by default). You should know exactly how that works.
- What it does — typing in a chat in the meeting app's window makes no sound.
- What it doesn't, 1 — if you switch to Notepad or Word during a call, that window becomes active, so the sound comes back.
- What it doesn't, 2 — other apps (a meeting in a browser, other conferencing services) aren't covered by auto-mute.
So when taking notes during a meeting, the surest habit is to use earphones or mute it yourself with Ctrl+Alt+K.
4 things to check before a call
- Check that your sound output is set to earphones or headphones, not speakers.
- Check that your meeting app is one of the four above. If it isn't, plan on muting it yourself.
- Press Ctrl+Alt+K once to make sure it actually works.
- Watch your mic input level while you type. That's how you find out how much real key noise gets in.
Hear a few
Three of the sounds in Tadak that we recorded ourselves. Press to listen.
If you're on Windows
Tadak — it goes quiet when your meeting app is in front
A tray app for Windows 10 and 11. It auto-mutes while Zoom, Teams, Discord or Skype is the active window, and in any other situation one shortcut turns it off.
- 30 sounds built in — 6 free with no time limit; unlock all of them for $3.90, once (no subscription)
- Shortcut mute — Ctrl+Alt+K; it also auto-mutes while Zoom, Teams, Discord or Skype is the active window
- What you type is not stored or sent — it only sees that a key was pressed and what kind of key it was. Works offline
- To be upfront — the installer isn't code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen shows a warning. Click More info → Run anyway
FAQ
Will the other side hear the app during a Zoom call?
While the Zoom window is active, Tadak mutes automatically. If you switch to another window (like Notepad) the sound comes back, so use earphones or mute it yourself.
Does it mute automatically for meetings in a Chrome tab?
Auto-mute covers the Zoom, Teams, Discord and Skype apps. Meetings inside a browser aren't covered, so mute with Ctrl+Alt+K yourself.
Does it reduce real keyboard noise?
No. This app adds sound; it can't reduce real key noise. Mute your mic or use a quieter keyboard.