How do Screen Privacy Filters Work?
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2017-05-06
·
1,105 words · ~5 min read
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So, there's this worry in people's minds that their internet activity is being
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constantly mined or spied on by the NSA,
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their employer, or their internet service provider. And while some of
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these concerns might be very wellounded, it's important to not forget
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the low tech, but no less effective method of snooping that is watching
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directly over your shoulder. And while this might sound a little silly, many of
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us have to deal with this when we're using our computers or devices in
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environments where we can't get a lot of privacy. Roommates, nosy co-workers, or
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that weirdly sweaty person next to you on your economycl class flight can all
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too often see what's happening on your screen way too easily. I mean, better
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viewing angles is like a selling point, right? This is where a privacy filter
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can be a great investment. The basic idea behind them is to severely restrict
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viewing angles to the point where you essentially have to be looking at the
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screen deadon in order to see it. You've
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probably seen them at the bank if you've ever tried to peek at your account balance while the teller is off getting
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your cash. But how do they work? Well,
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think of a window in your house with vertical blinds. If you don't have one,
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pretend you do. If you turn them so they're completely open, you can see
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outside fairly easily. But if you stand off to the side, the surface area of the
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blinds will obscure the Windows enough to where you can barely see past them at
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all. Well, privacy filters work similarly, just on a much, much smaller
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scale. Some manufacturers refer to their
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technology as microl louver as they use
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the thinness of each individual blind as
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a selling point. The thinner the blinds, the more light can pass through for the
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intended user. A typical filter can contain thousands of these blinds to
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enhance privacy while still making the screen relatively easy to see for
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whoever is right in front of it. Typically, the filter will start to
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block out screen contents once someone is looking at the display from an angle
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of about 30°. Now, although most people buy these filters as an aftermarket
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add-on for their computer or monitor, we're actually starting to see screens
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with the technology built in, including, and this is pretty cool, the ability to
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turn the filter on or off. Because even
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from the front, a privacy filter does make the screen a little harder to see.
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Just like looking out a window through completely open blinds still isn't the
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same as having a window with nothing at all on it. So, this is a welcome change
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if you've ever wanted to watch a movie with the, I don't know, not so sweaty
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neighbor on the plane, which is cool. But what if you're doing some super
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important like James Bond level stuff on your computer where a standard privacy
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filter just won't cut it? There's actually a way to make your screen
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appear blank to anyone who isn't wearing a special pair of glasses. You see,
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modern LCD screens use polarizing filters to orient the light waves a
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certain way, so that they come out of the screen as actual useful images or
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text. Without that filter, light would just come out of the monitor like blah,
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and it would be this incoherent mixture and end up appearing just plain white.
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So, some intrepid do-it-yourselfers have created their own privacy monitors by
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opening up their displays, removing the polarizing filter, and then cutting out
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pieces of it small enough to fit into eyeglass frames. The result is that you
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have a monitor that will always look plain white unless you're wearing the
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special specs, which will reveal what's on screen. We actually even have a
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tutorial on how to do this on our other channel right about here. And while you
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shouldn't do this on a screen that you're using for gaming or other tasks
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where visual quality really matters, it's perfect if you're working on a
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super secret business proposal, have family members that can't keep their
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eyes off your monitor, or just don't
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want your boss knowing what you're really doing during work hours. If
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