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Have you ever wanted to have a phone conversation without others listening? in Consumer Electronics Show 2026I’ve seen a solution to this privacy problem: the Mutalk 2, a wearable microphone that mutes my voice from people around me. It also made me look like a cyberpunk platypus.
Coming from the Japanese company Shiftall Mutalak 2 It’s a $200 accessory that you wear over your mouth and nose, sealed by a rubber gasket, with a plastic oval that extends a few inches. Connects to phones or devices via Bluetooth or 3.5mm wired jack. In one demonstration, I wore a Mutalk device and spoke on the phone with someone 10 feet away who could clearly hear me on the call, but could only pick up the faintest mumbles otherwise.
There’s no getting around the weirdness of the mutlaq, and I expect it would raise eyebrows if I wore it in public, because tying it makes me look like I’m wearing a gas mask. To be fair to Shiftall, I don’t have the design chops to suggest a better look for a microphone that incorporates muting technology. I can certainly imagine plenty of reasons to use it in the comfort of home, like chatting with friends online while gaming late at night without worrying about waking up roommates, partners, or kids.
The Mutalk 2 can be worn with straps around the head or simply held over the nose and mouth while speaking.
From my short time with the Mutalk 2, it seems to work as intended, and the $200 price tag isn’t outrageous compared to the prices of other microphones. Although it undoubtedly looks strange, its design is more practical than strange. After I adjusted the elastic straps that surrounded my head, the accessory sat comfortably enough on my face, and was light enough that it didn’t seem to drag down during a longer conversation. The rubber gasket covering the mouth and nose is removable, making it easy to clean.
If you want to have private conversations while in public, there may be less obtrusive ways to do so than with the Mutalk 2, such as a throat microphone. But the Shiftall design has other benefits, such as preventing lip-reading. It is worth noting that some people like to rock the cyberpunk platypus look. I mean people were lining up to buy Razer Zephyr RGB Mask Some people embrace parts of an advanced technological future that is different from everything else around them.