You Need A Privacy Screen
I once interviewed a spy who told me her absolute favorite privacy tool was a privacy screen.
A privacy screen, huh?
This was five years ago, and it was the first time I’d ever heard of a privacy screen. Since then, I’ve been using them every day on all of my devices. It’s become one of my favorite privacy tools, too.
What Is A Privacy Screen?
A privacy screen limits the viewing angle of the screen, making it hard for people nearby to see what’s on it.
Most privacy screens use either micro-louver technology (microscopic slats that work similarly to window blinds by controlling the direction of light), polarization technology (which filters light waves, allowing only light traveling in a specific direction to pass through), or a combination of both.
It’s a piece of plastic or glass that I can put on my devices to block the view from side angles, so that people nearby can’t see what I’m doing.
It is such a simple device, so effective, and super easy to apply, which made me wonder…
Why doesn’t everyone have one?
Seriously, I look around me, and everyone’s screen is visible to me. I almost never see people using privacy screens. I’ll be in movie theaters and read entire private conversations. I’ll be at conferences and see people typing in their pin from the other side of the room. Just the other week I was on a plane, and I’m not even joking, the lady a few rows ahead had a spreadsheet open titled “[Company Name Redacted] Passwords.” She copied a password (which I could easily read) from the list, and proceeded to log in to their accounting platform where I got a good look at all kinds of sensitive financials.
Had she clipped a magnetic privacy screen over the top of her laptop screen, this information would have been protected from my prying eyes.
Perhaps people just don’t understand how important it is to prevent people from looking at their screens. There has been a big wave of thieves stealing phones after watching people put in their pin — They’ll watch either through CCTV, or simply shoulder surf, and then later do a grab-and-dash with the phone. Because they saw the phone’s pin, they can access everything on the phone (including all of the user’s banking apps) and drain their accounts.
So this is just a short PSA to remind you that privacy screens exist, let you know how easy they are to install (and how cheap!), and encourage you to take a moment to apply one to your devices.
Important Tips
Some phones have fingerprint readers on the screen itself, and a privacy screen can interfere with this feature. While some brands claim compatibility, I’ve yet to find one that works reliably. A workaround is to use a plastic privacy screen and cut a hole for the fingerprint reader. An NBTV community member suggested on our video redoing your finger scan with the screen on, but I have yet to vet that solution!
Also, note that privacy screens can make your device's screen appear slightly darker. This hasn’t been an issue for me, but it’s something to keep in mind.
TLDR
A privacy screen is a simple, affordable way to protect your privacy from shoulder surfers or would-be thieves. You never know who might be looking over your shoulder, so consider adding one to your privacy toolkit.
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NBTV. Because Privacy Matters.
Yours in privacy,
Naomi