3M Notebook Screen Privacy Filter Review (pics)

People are nosy.  They'll look at what you're eating for lunch, peer into your grocery cart to see what cereal you're buying and they'll most definitely shift their eyes to read what's displaying on your notebook screen.  And if you like to keep your privacy or have sensitive data displayed on your screen, this is a problem.

Often when buying a laptop you're concerned with how good the screen is and how easy it is to see from wide viewing angles.  For instance, when gathering people around your laptop to show a presentation or if you have more than one person watching a movie on your notebook screen, you'll want everybody to see the screen well from a wide angle.  Bad screens make it hard to see if you're too far to the left or right of the screen.

But then there are those times in life when you're using your laptop on an airplane, in a coffee shop or a tight row of desks at school and may not want your neighbor reading what you're viewing.  You might be viewing online personal account statements or the latest company sales report containing data you don't want others to know.  Some people, including myself, don't want people sitting next to you reading your personal emails.  But if you have a laptop with an incredibly nice, bright screen and wide viewing angles that's easy to see from several feet away, what do you do?

The ever innovative company 3M has a solution for these problems in the form of their 3M Privacy Filter for notebook and desktop LCD screens.

The 3M screen filter is a simple product that is placed in front of your screen and using 3M's privacy technology narrows the viewing area so that screen data is visible only to persons directly in front of the monitor.  As long as you're sitting directly in front of the monitor the image will not blur or distort on-screen images.  Furthermore, the screen filter can protect the screen and will also reduce glare and eyestrain.

So how does this product work for notebooks?  Quite simple, you get 6 little tabs included with the filter that have a strong adhesive that will stick to the notebook screen ledge.  You place these tabs around the screen, 2 on each side and 2 on the bottom.  Then, you just slide the screen filter behind these tabs and they will hold the filter in place.

Above are the tabs you get to be placed around the screen and hold the filter in place

Above are the instructions for attaching the LCD screen filter (view larger image)

Below is a set of images that demonstrates how the 3M privacy filter affects the viewing angle and can protect from others seeeing your screen:

1)

Screen with no filter attached, notice tabs on sides and bottom

2)

Filter is applied, the viewing clarity and brightness is still the same when viewed straight on

3)

Viewing the screen from the side once the privacy filter is attached blocks any small text from being read and makes even very large black on white background text hard to read

The bottom line is that this filter just plain works if you don't want people to see what's on your screen while out in public.  Unless they're looking directly over your shoulder that is, you'd have to grow eyes in the back of your head or put a rear view mirror on your notebook to detect for those types of snoops.  The filter retails for about $50 and can be found in all major office supply stores or purchased online from various retailers (price compare).  Various sizes are available to fit your specific notebook screen size.

Pricing and Availability: 3M Privacy Filter for notebook and desktop LCD screens

Product Page: http://cms.3m.com/cms/US/en/2-22/FiiulFT/view.jhtml