A little help.

Keyboard Cleaner needs Accessibility access to pause keyboard input. On your first attempt to start, choose Open System Settings and enable Keyboard Cleaner in the pane that opens. This pane is named Accessibility, or Device Control and Data Access on newer macOS versions.

If the app is not listed, click + and choose Keyboard Cleaner. macOS may ask you to authenticate. Return to the app and choose Start cleaning; granting access does not start a session.

Only Accessibility access is required. You do not need to enable Input Monitoring. The app does not record or send keyboard input.

Open Keyboard Cleaner and choose Start cleaning. Launching the app never locks the keyboard automatically. In Settings, choose two, five, or ten minutes; the default is five.

Click Finish cleaning once, or hold Escape on its own for two seconds. Releasing Escape early cancels the hold. A session also finishes automatically when its timer runs out.

The app stops cleaning if it loses focus, the display arrangement changes, or the Mac sleeps. If keyboard control is interrupted, the session ends and the app tells you that your keyboard is active again. Closing the main app window quits Keyboard Cleaner.

Hardware controls and system shortcuts can behave differently across Mac models, keyboards, and macOS versions. Blocking Power, Touch ID, or a dedicated Lock key is not guaranteed. Avoid pressing these buttons while cleaning; holding Power can still turn off your Mac.

Keyboard Cleaner pauses input during a session. It does not disable the keyboard hardware or act as a security lock.

Email hugh@arcticstudios.co. Include your Mac model, macOS version, keyboard model, and a short description of what happened. For a key that still responds, tell us which key.

Please leave out passwords, security codes, and payment details. For app privacy information, see the Keyboard Cleaner privacy policy.