Keytones
Keytones
For Mac
Hear every keystroke — and tell upper from lowercase by ear. Fully customizable, from the menu bar.
Available soon

Keyboard Sounds & Effects for Mac

Hear every keystroke — tell upper from lowercase by ear

Ever typed a complete sentence in all uppercase letters before realizing that Caps Lock was activated? Keytones provides distinct sound for each keystroke, including uppercase, lowercase, the space bar, and modifier keys. This auditory feedback allows you to detect accidental Shift or Caps Lock before your eyes do. It is a menu bar application that operates quietly in the background, enhancing the auditory experience of every keystroke across all applications you use.

Type with Confidence

Each key group is associated with its own sound, providing immediate feedback on your typing without requiring visual inspection. This combination of muscle memory and audio feedback minimizes unexpected capitalizations and reduces the time spent backspacing. You can select from a variety of built-in sound presets and switch between them with a simple tap from the menu bar.

Customize Your Sound

If you are not satisfied with the default settings, you can personalize each key group by adjusting the Pitch, Length, Damping, and Volume knobs. You can also mix and match any built-in sound per key group or import your own audio files by dragging them directly into the application. Keytones will verify each import and provide a warning if a file is not suitable for use as a key tone.

Visual Feedback

If you prefer visual cues, you can enable Visual Feedback. This feature displays a soft glowing border along the bottom edge of your screen, which pulses with each keystroke. You can customize the color, size, and position of each key group, select the display it appears on, and ensure that it remains discreet and unobtrusive.

Per-App Control

Keytones offers per-app control, allowing you to exclude specific applications or restrict its functionality to an allow-list. You can toggle Keytones on or off for the currently active application from the menu bar. Additionally, Keytones retains separate volume settings for your MacBook speakers, headphones, and any Bluetooth or USB devices, automatically adjusting the volume when your audio output changes.

Instant Mute

For immediate silence, you can triple-tap Command, Option, Control, or Shift keys to silence Keytones without the need for a menu.

More Features

  • Custom Presets: Build, duplicate, and rename your own sound presets to suit your specific needs.
  • Siri & Shortcuts Support: Enable, disable, or toggle Keytones by voice command or from the Shortcuts app.
  • Minimalist Design: Keytones operates quietly in your menu bar (or Dock, your preference), with the option to launch it upon login.
  • Performance: Keytones utilizes a low-latency audio engine that maintains a seamless typing experience and gracefully adapts to audio device changes during speech, ensuring uninterrupted communication without any crackling or dropouts.

Privacy

Keytones requests only Accessibility access to detect key presses, ensuring that your typing data remains private and secure. It does not read, log, or store any typed information. The developer is from Germany.

Pricing & Download

Keytones is available for a one-time purchase — no subscriptions, no advertisements.

Requirements

You need a Mac with macOS 15.6 or newer. The app is optimized for Apple Silicon CPUs.