Disclosure: Some links on this page are monetized by the Skimlinks, Amazon, Rakuten Advertising, and eBay, affiliate programs. All prices are subject to change, and this article only reflects the prices available at time of publication.
If you’ve ever used a laptop in a coffee shop, library, park, or other public location, odds are you’ve had someone look over your shoulder to see what you’re doing. That’s why there’s a cottage industry for laptop screen privacy filters.
A privacy filter is a piece of plastic that you can place over your laptop display to seriously restrict the viewing angle. If you’re sitting directly in front of the computer you should have no problem reading the screen. But if you’re looking at it from an angle, you won’t be able to see a thing.
Most privacy filters are designed for full sized laptops, but as netbooks become more popular, we’re seeing more accessories for them. And Peter at Netbooked discovered that 3M is making filters for 10 inch nretbook displays. The company has them on display at a trade show in Japan this week, but you can also check to see if a privacy filter is available for your netbook model at the 3M web site.
In a nutshell, if you’ve got a 10.1 or 10.2 inch screen, you can probably use one of the company’s filters which are available from Amazon for $30.82
These always struck me as highly ironic. All that time and effort to expand viewing angles and we go and slap one of these on it!
Can’t you just buy a normal one and cut it? If a 15-inch screen is twice as large as a 10-inch screen, then you’re saving money while getting two privacy screens instead of one…
Some countries require their use in cases of handling medical and financial records.