Does a keyboard sound app read what you type? What Kiiwi hears and what it keeps

Updated October 2026. Written by the person who makes Kiiwi. The full privacy policy has the detail.

A keyboard sound app plays a sound when you press a key, so macOS makes you grant it a permission that sounds alarming. It is a fair thing to worry about. This page says what that permission lets Kiiwi do, what it keeps, what leaves your Mac, and how to check all of it yourself.

The short answer

Kiiwi hears that a key went down. It never records which key, and it never sends anything you typed anywhere. A key press picks a sound and is gone: it is not written to disk, not buffered and not uploaded.

What the permission lets it do

To know that you pressed a key while another app is in front, a Mac app needs the Accessibility permission. It is a broad permission, which is why the macOS prompt sounds serious.

Kiiwi uses it for one job: to know a key went down so it can play the sound. It listens only. It can't type for you, change a key or click anything. You can take it away at any time in System Settings, under Privacy & Security, Accessibility, and Kiiwi simply goes quiet.

What it does with each key press

A key event is read only to decide which recording to play, then discarded. There is no log of your typing to hand over or leak, because there is nowhere one is kept.

When macOS protects a field, such as a password or a one-time code, Kiiwi hears nothing from it. It is never played out loud and never counted.

What the typing stats keep

Kiiwi's stats are counts, never content. Each key press adds one to a few counters:

• Keys per day and per hour, for today's count, the 14-day chart, your streak and your busiest hour.
• Keys per keyboard row (number, top, home, bottom, space, modifiers, return and delete), never per key.
• Keys per sound pack, for your favourite switch.
• Characters typed per app, by app name such as Terminal. Never window titles, document names or web addresses.
• Your best typing speed, worked out from timestamps held in memory for one minute and then dropped.

Because it never records which key you pressed, the stats cannot be turned back into anything you typed. They sit in one file on your Mac that you can export or reset from the Stats screen, and they are never uploaded.

What leaves your Mac

Two checks, and nothing else:

• A licence check. Your licence key, the id of the seat this Mac holds, a hash of your Mac's hardware identifier and the app version, so Kiiwi can confirm this Mac's seat is still good. No usage data, no file names, no keystrokes.
• A daily look for updates. It fetches the list of releases, and a new version is only installed after you agree to it.

There is no analytics, no telemetry, no crash reporting, no advertising identifier and no account.

How to check any keyboard sound app

Don't take anyone's word for it, including ours.

• Watch the network. Run a network monitor such as Little Snitch or LuLu while you type. With Kiiwi, the only host it talks to is kiiwi.app, for the licence check and the update list, and neither request carries anything you typed.
• Read the permission. The app should ask for one listen-only permission and explain why. Be wary of one that asks for more.
• Check the policy. It should say plainly that key presses are not stored or sent. Kiiwi's says so in one page.
• Remove the permission. Switch it off in System Settings and the app should go silent, not break.

Questions

Can Kiiwi see what I type?

No. It reads a key press only to choose which sound to play, then discards it. It is never written to disk, buffered or sent anywhere, and the typing stats count keys without noting which one.

Does Kiiwi record my passwords?

No. When macOS protects a field, such as a password box, Kiiwi hears nothing from it. A password or one-time code is never played out loud and never counted.

Why does Kiiwi need the Accessibility permission?

It is how macOS tells an app that a key was pressed in another app. Kiiwi uses it only to play the matching sound. It can't type, change a key or click anything, and you can take it away in System Settings at any time.

Does Kiiwi send any data about me?

Two checks only: whether your licence is still valid, and a daily look for updates. There is no analytics, telemetry, crash reporting or account. Neither request carries anything you typed.

Where are my typing stats stored?

In one file on your Mac. You can export it or reset it from the Stats screen. It is never uploaded. A share card is an image made on your Mac, and it only leaves your Mac if you post it.

Can I try Kiiwi before I install it?

Yes. The playground on the homepage plays every switch in your browser, with nothing to install and no account. If you buy it and it isn't right, there is a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Topicskeyboard sound app privacydoes Kiiwi record what I typemac keyboard soundstyping sounds for MacKiiwi privacy