Privacy-conscious consumers could soon be able to protect their conversations from strangers using a wearable gadget that clips over their mouth.

Hushme, which describes itself as the “world's first voice mask for mobile phones”, is a rather extreme solution to an everyday problem.

Worrying about potential eavesdroppers while chatting on the phone in public isn’t uncommon, but Hushme’s unsubtle, muzzle-like design is sure to attract more attention than your side of a conversation about even the most sensitive of subject-matter.

The Bluetooth-connected device is worn around the face and neck, with the large, padded mouthpiece designed to muffle your voice to prevent people around you from hearing you clearly, in a train carriage or a cafe, for instance.

The built-in microphone should ensure that the person you’re chatting to has no such problems trying to understand you, and you can converse hands-free thanks to the attached earphones.

Hushme, however, goes even further by allowing you to completely drown out your speech with a selection of noises played through its inbuilt speakers.

The sound options include wind, ocean, rain, birds, monkey, squirrel, R2D2, Minion and Darth Vader.

It’s only a working prototype for now, but Hushme plans to crowdfund the device in May and start commercial production before the end of the year.