3M Gold Privacy Filter

As part of the package when I received my new work laptop I was given a privacy filter. These are nothing new in our company, but as my new laptop had a 17 inch screen rather that a 15 inch, I had to replace the filter too. A privacy filter basically means that you can work in public, in cafes or on the train for example and no one can see your work if they are stood behind you. I guess the novelty about this one is that rather than the peeping tom seeing a black dark screen, the screen he sees is bright yellow.

Price and availability

There are tonnes of sizes that are specific to your laptop or computer screen size. Most sizes are widely available on the internet, such as Amazon.co.uk and for a filter that fits a 17 inch screen; it will cost around £49.00.

Description

The filters are really easy to fit and come with two options. You can either chose to have a plastic frame that you slide the filter into or you can use little plastic tabs to secure the filter in place. I chose to use the little plastic tabs as it holds the filter in place much easier and seems a bit more secure. In the packet you get 8 tabs, I only use 6 with mine but as time progresses I may need to use the other two, however at the time they seemed to be enough. These little tabs have a sticky side with tape on; if you pull the tape off you can then stick the sticky side to the outer rim of the screen. I had two on the top and bottom and got away with just one on either side. Then you need to carefully slide the filter in between them. This is like a piece of thin plastic and takes a little manoeuvring to get it in place. Once in, it should stay there quite happily and you can shut the laptop and carry on your business as normal.

My experiences

Privacy filters are important as we deal with confidential material on a day to day basis and you never known who might be sat near you. These filters are supposed to be the best on the market as they black out the information at a much closer distance and no matter what angle the snooper is stood on, they cannot see the screen. These are quite good in this respect, they really do glow bright yellow when you are looking at the screen. The only downside is that they do interrupt the clarity of the screen to some degree and give the screen a light orange/brown tint. They also can reflect the light more than a normal screen and sometimes find that I am the one being blocked out, so it depends where the light is coming from. I was on a train tapping away and as we turned the sun came right through the window and my screen was completely gold rendering it impossible to work unless I moved the screen angle. Once I had done this it was perfectly fine though.

I like the peace of mind that I will not lose data or have confidential material viewed while I am busy getting on with my work though and probably the best feature about these is how easy they are to remove. If I want to watch a movie on the way back from London on the train or just want to play a game, I can pop out the filter and just use the laptop as normal. Similarly for cleaning, the filter pops out easily and just needs wiping with a cloth before replacing.

Overall

I will continue using the filter and as long as I have this sized laptop I will continue to use this one. They are expensive so need handling with care and probably the safest thing to do to prevent it being damaged is to fit it to the laptop and leave it there.
If you are looking for a good quality privacy filter, then this brand is probably the best I have experienced.