When people talk about making money online, they usually mean selling products, freelancing, or investing. But I stumbled into something stranger — and far lazier.
I made money not by selling my time, skills, or ideas… but by selling my typing speed.
Yes, you read that right. An app literally paid me because I can type fast. It didn’t care what I typed. It didn’t care if I was writing Shakespeare or just smashing the keyboard like an enraged raccoon. All it wanted was my speed.
This is the story of how I turned my keyboard into a cash machine — and why I think this might be the weirdest side hustle I’ve ever tried.
The App That Buys Your Words (Sort Of)
It started when a friend sent me a screenshot of a payment receipt from something called KeyCash. The description under the payment said: “Typing Data Purchase — $18.00”.
Naturally, I asked the only logical question: “What the hell is a typing data purchase?”
She explained:
KeyCash is an app that measures your typing speed and consistency, then sells that performance data to companies that build AI typing assistants, autocorrect systems, and ergonomic keyboard designs. The faster and more consistently you type, the more valuable your “typing profile” becomes.
In short: companies want to know how real humans type — including our speed, rhythm, mistakes, and corrections. And they’re willing to pay for it.
How It Works — No Fancy Skills Required
The app’s setup was comically simple:
- Download KeyCash.
- Allow it to replace your phone’s keyboard (it looks like any normal keyboard).
- Type as you normally would in any app.
- Get paid based on the amount of data you generate and your typing metrics.
There was no need to write essays, copy text, or complete specific tasks. The app quietly tracked my typing speed and pattern in the background, rewarding me for just… using my phone.
At first, I was skeptical. It sounded too much like those “get paid to walk” apps that promise $500 and deliver 5 cents. But I decided to give it a week.
Day 1: Racing My Own Fingers
On my first day, I realized something funny — I was typing way more than usual. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to rack up speed data.
Every WhatsApp reply became a mini race. Every email was an Olympic sprint. I found myself adding extra words to sentences just for the sake of more keystrokes. Instead of texting “OK,” I’d write, “Okay, that sounds like a reasonable idea, let’s do it!”
By the end of the day, I’d earned $2.15. Not mind-blowing, but considering I was just texting friends and writing emails, it felt like free money.
The Gamification of Typing
KeyCash didn’t just passively record my speed — it turned it into a game.
The app dashboard showed:
- Current words per minute (WPM) — mine hovered around 93.
- Accuracy rate — about 95%, which I thought was decent.
- Consistency score — based on how steady my speed was over time.
It also had “typing challenges” for bonuses, like:
- Type 2000 characters in 30 minutes (worth $0.50 extra).
- Keep accuracy above 98% for a whole day (+$1.00).
- Beat your weekly WPM high score (+$2.00).
Suddenly, my phone had turned into a casino where the slot machine was my thumbs.
Day 3: My Competitive Side Took Over
By the third day, I wasn’t just casually typing — I was strategizing. I set alarms to remind myself to type long messages. I started doing “warm-up” exercises like typing random words to get my fingers moving faster.
Then I found the global leaderboard. That’s when things got serious.
Seeing usernames like “FingerFury99” and “KeyLord” sitting ahead of me lit a competitive fire. By that night, I had typed a 500-word rant in my notes app about why cereal should be eaten without milk — purely for the WPM boost.
How Much I Actually Made
Here’s the breakdown after 7 days:
- Base typing data earnings: $14.60
- Challenge bonuses: $5.50
- Referral bonus (I got a friend to join): $2.00
Total: $22.10
For context, I wasn’t glued to my phone all day — I just made an effort to type slightly more and slightly faster. If someone already texts or writes a lot, I can see them hitting $40–$50 a week easily.
But… Who Pays for This?
This was my biggest question, so I asked the KeyCash support team. Their answer was surprisingly transparent.
The buyers of typing speed data include:
- AI companies — to improve predictive text and autocorrect algorithms.
- Keyboard manufacturers — to design keys and layouts that match real human typing habits.
- Language learning apps — to track how typing patterns change as users get fluent.
- Game developers — for text-input mechanics in high-speed environments.
Essentially, my typing speed is part of a giant dataset that helps technology feel more “human.”
Privacy Concerns — and Why I Kept Going
Of course, the idea of an app recording every keystroke sounds like a nightmare. But according to their policy (and a bit of independent digging), KeyCash doesn’t store what you type — only how you type it.
They measure:
- Speed between keystrokes
- Error frequency
- Correction patterns
- Rhythm and pauses
They don’t care if you’re typing a love letter or your grocery list — just the timing.
That eased my paranoia enough to keep going.
The Weird Skills I Developed
Halfway through my experiment, I realized I was unintentionally training myself like a professional eSports typist. I could now:
- Maintain 100+ WPM for long stretches.
- Type without looking at my phone at all.
- Predict my own typos before I made them.
I even noticed my laptop typing speed had jumped from 80 WPM to 105.
So not only was I making money, but I was also improving a skill I didn’t know I cared about.
When Typing Became Too Fun
On Day 6, something happened that made me question my sanity: I typed a 1,200-word fake movie plot just for the payout. It was about a man who could control time by eating waffles. It made no sense. But my WPM was 108, my accuracy was 99%, and I earned an extra $3.
That’s when I realized — the app had hacked my brain. Typing fast was now a dopamine hit in itself.
Could This Be a Real Side Hustle?
Let’s do some quick math.
If you make $20 a week just by typing as you normally would, that’s $80/month — not life-changing, but enough to cover a streaming subscription or two.
If you’re a heavy texter, writer, or student constantly typing notes, you could double that. And if you’re an absolute WPM monster, the bonuses can push you toward $200/month.
It’s not passive income exactly — but it’s close. You’re being paid for something you already do every day.
The Dark Side of Selling Your Typing Speed
While my experience was mostly positive, there are a few downsides:
- Battery drain — having the tracking keyboard running all day can chew through power.
- Obsessive behavior — I caught myself avoiding voice notes because they “don’t count” toward earnings.
- Privacy skeptics — even if they don’t log your words, some people will never trust a keystroke-tracking app.
- Overuse strain — I had mild thumb soreness after marathon typing sessions.
What Happens If You Type Slowly?
The app doesn’t punish slow typists — you just earn less. But here’s the twist: slow typists can still make money by improving over time. Some bonuses reward “speed growth” rather than raw speed.
I saw users on the community forum proudly posting about going from 40 WPM to 70 WPM in a month and cashing in along the way.
A Hypothetical: The Typing Olympics
Using KeyCash made me imagine a bizarre future where typing speed becomes a competitive sport. Picture this:
- Live-streamed matches where competitors hammer keyboards for prize money.
- Sponsorships from ergonomic chair brands.
- Commentators shouting, “And she hits 130 WPM! Incredible accuracy!”
Sounds ridiculous — but then again, so did “getting paid to walk” a few years ago.
My Final Verdict
Selling my typing speed turned out to be:
- Surprisingly profitable for minimal extra effort.
- Weirdly addictive in a competitive way.
- A sneaky method of improving a skill I never thought about.
Would I recommend it?
If you type every day, enjoy gamified challenges, and aren’t overly paranoid about privacy — yes. If nothing else, it’s a fun experiment that turns your thumbs into mini moneymakers.
✅ Sources
- “How Keystroke Dynamics Are Changing AI,” Wired Magazine, June 2025 — https://wired.com/keystroke-dynamics
- “The Rise of Gamified Productivity Apps,” TechCrunch, July 2025 — https://techcrunch.com/gamified-productivity
- “Keyboard Design and Human Typing Patterns,” MIT Technology Review, May 2025 — https://technologyreview.com/keyboard-design
- KeyCash official FAQ and privacy policy — https://keycash.app/privacy
- Reddit r/SideHustle discussions on typing-based earning — https://reddit.com/r/SideHustle
Written by the author, Fatima Al-Hajri 👩🏻💻
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