Tadak
Tadak › Typing sounds at night
Working at night: less noise, still hearing the typing sound
Freelancers and side-hustlers who work at night want a mechanical keyboard but worry about the noise. It's easier if you split it in two: reduce the sound that leaves the room with a quiet keyboard, and make the sound you hear separately in your earphones.
Short answer
- The app doesn't reduce noise outside your room. What neighbours and family hear is the real keyboard; the app adds sound on top of it.
- So it's a combination — a quiet keyboard (laptop built-in, membrane, low-noise switches) plus the typing sound in earphones.
- Keep the earphone volume low. Even more so at night, when you're using your ears for a long session.
Start with the fact that there are two sounds
| Sound | Who hears it | How you control it |
|---|---|---|
| Real key presses | Same room, next room, downstairs | Keyboard type, typing pad, desk mat, how hard you type |
| The app's typing sound | Me, in earphones | Which sound, volume |
A set-up that works at night
- Keyboard — a laptop's built-in keyboard, a membrane keyboard or a low-noise switch keyboard is quiet. With a mechanical keyboard, O-rings under the keycaps or a mat on the desk reduce it.
- App sound — softer sounds are easier to listen to for long than clicky (blue-switch style) ones. Among Tadak's 6 free sounds, Membrane or Typewriter; among paid ones, “Cherry MX Red” (linear and quiet, with a deep low end) is a candidate.
- Earphones — ones that don't seal your ears completely are more comfortable to wear for long.
If you hammer the keys, that is most of your noise — more than which sound you choose. Typing a little lighter makes a difference.
The limits, plainly
- “Quiet for the neighbours” only holds if the keyboard is quiet. The app can't turn a mechanical keyboard's noise into something else.
- If you play the app's sound through speakers, you'll hear it in the room as is. At night, use earphones.
- If a video call is part of your night, read keyboard sound on video calls first.
Hear a few
Three of the sounds in Tadak that we recorded ourselves. Press to listen with earphones.
If you're on Windows
Tadak — typing sound in your earphones
A tray app for Windows 10 and 11. It plays the sound whatever program you type in, and 6 sounds are free with no time limit.
- 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 neighbours hear less if I use the app?
No. What they hear is the real keyboard, which has nothing to do with the app. The app only adds sound for the person wearing earphones.
Will a laptop keyboard feel like a mechanical one?
It only adds sound, so it doesn't change how the keys feel under your fingers. It's for shifting what you hear toward a mechanical sound.
What if I need to turn it off suddenly at night?
Mute it with Ctrl+Alt+K; press it again to turn it back on.