Ever wanted to have a phone conversation without others listening in? At CES 2026, I saw a solution to this privacy problem, the Mutalk 2, a wearable microphone that muted my voice from people around me. It also made me look like a cyberpunk platypus.

Coming from Japanese company Shiftall, the Mutalk 2 is a $200 accessory that you wear over your mouth and nose, sealed by a rubber gasket, with a plastic oval extending out for a few inches. It connects to phones or devices over Bluetooth or wired 3.5mm jack. In a demonstration, I wore the Mutalk and chatted over the phone with someone 10 feet away who could hear me clearly on the call, but could pick up only the barest mumbling otherwise. 

There’s no getting around the Mutalk’s strangeness, and I would expect to raise eyebrows if I ever wore it in public, as strapping one on made me look like I was 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 tech to muffle my voice. Granted, I could imagine plenty of reasons to use it in the comfort of one’s own home, like to chat with online friends while gaming late at night without worry of waking up roommates, partners or babies.

From my brief time with the Mutalk 2, it appears to work as intended, and $200 isn’t prohibitive compared to the prices of other microphones. While it undeniably looks odd, its design is more functional than exotic. After I adjusted its rubber straps that went around my head, the accessory sat comfortably enough on my face, and was light enough that it wouldn’t seem to drag down during a longer conversation. The rubber gasket that covers the mouth and nose is removable, making it easy to clean. 

If you want private conversations while you’re out in public, there may be less obtrusive ways to go about it than the Mutalk 2, like a throat microphone. But Shiftall’s design has other benefits, such as blocking lip-reading. And it’s worth pointing out that some people out there would love to rock that cyberpunk platypus look. I mean, folks did line up to buy the Razer Zephyr RGB mask — some people embrace parts of the bleeding-edge technological future that’re different from anything else around.