I'll start the review with a question, have you ever tried to see what a lady or man sitting with iPhonem or iPad in a cafe, on a plane, on a bus, or at the train station, for example, on their phone or tablet? If so, you probably know that people around you have also thought about it. In the age of phones and tablets with relatively large displays, it is not a problem to read from a distance of two meters everything that the user of the phone or tablet himself does. The solution to protect your privacy is offered by 3M in the form of a Privacy Screen Protector. This is an analogue of the Privacy Filters of the same manufacturer intended for laptops, whose review you can read here. The aim of the foil is to reduce the viewing angle of the display and thus prevent people within the radius of your phone from seeing what is currently on its display. So let's see how the film works.
Horizontally or vertically?
The first and most important question you need to ask yourself before buying is whether you want to prevent the possibility of viewing the display in a vertical or horizontal axis. If you choose vertical, the display cannot be seen by people standing in front of you and behind you. In the case of a horizontal film, people standing to the right and left of you cannot see the display. Technology that could prevent observation in a 360-degree circle is not currently available, so you have to choose a horizontal or vertical display cover when purchasing.
Application - does it contain glue at all?
The application is identical to the application of the 3M Natural View film, so I took the liberty of using a paragraph from the review of the Natural View film from the same manufacturer. In the 3M Privacy Screen Protector package, you will find one foil, together with an application spatula, which also serves as part of the package. There is no need to look for anything in the paper envelope other than the foil itself and the already mentioned spatula, which you use to safely apply the foil. First, of course, you need to clean the display, for which it is advisable to use a cloth moistened with a small amount of technical alcohol. Thanks to alcohol, you can safely get rid of even the smallest traces of grease and you are sure that the film will stick to the display immediately.
If you already have experience with the Invisible Shield film, for example, it will be a surprise to you that the 3M Privacy Display Protector is not a plastic bag-type film that can be twisted and bent in all kinds of ways. It is a really solid type that resembles flexible plastic rather than plastic. Due to the strength of the film, its application to the surface of the phone is much easier than with "plastic" films. 3M Privacy Display Protector is even significantly stronger than Natural View film.
The film literally contains a nano layer of adhesive that is not visible to the eye or touch, you will only be able to see its presence after sticking the film to the phone's display. The film adheres to the display immediately and there are no even the notorious bubbles that, according to manufacturers of other films, disappear within a few hours or days. You can start using your phone immediately, which is a huge advantage compared to, for example, the competing film from Invisible Shield, for which the manufacturer recommends waiting miniat least 24 hours before you start actively using the device. Thanks to a really good adhesive, the film adheres immediately and there are no gaps or bubbles.
Of course, there is the possibility of further peeling and sticking. However, re-application is best done in sterile conditions.storech, which probably not every one of our readers has access to. If you peel off the foil, airborne dust will immediately stick to it, which is almost impossible to remove. However, with a little skill and an air purifier running, I believe that the foil can be used repeatedly, but most people don't have the slightest reason to do so.
Are you ready to change your display?
The 3M Privacy Screen Protector film changes the appearance of the display even if you look at it from a zero angle, i.e. directly. The display is darker under the film. You can see the comparison in the following photo, where I attached the side by side Apple LED Cinema Display film 3M Natural View and 3M Privacy SCreen Protector. Dimming is a tax on the privacy that the film provides, but it is up to you whether you get used to it. The film does not reduce the brightness of the display or its expressiveness in any way, it only covers it with a layer that is darker than the display without it. Another feature of the film is the fact that it perfectly Retina display iPhone The pixel grid is no longer as perfect after the application and it is possible that the deterioration of the display's fineness will interfere with you.
Privacy protection works exactly as it should, if you look at the display from a different angle than zero (+/- twenty degrees) you see nothing but a black foil, under which you cannot observe even hints of what is currently shown on the display. Therefore, the protective film fulfills its function perfectly.
3M Privacy Screen Protector and 3M Natural View film stuck on Apple LED Cinema 24″ Display
Gallery
Other features
Thanks to its surface treatment, the film does not react to every touch with an unpleasant fingerprint, but tries to minito paint the smudges that appear on the iPhone commonly found. The surface also makes cleaning easier than the display itself. According to the manufacturer, 3M Natural View is also equipped with special clean side technology, thanks to which no unpleasant debris should be caught behind the edges of the film. After a week of testing, I can confirm that this is indeed the case and the film is clean, but I do not consider a week to be long enough to be able to refute or confirm zero staining of the film. However, after the first week, there is nothing on the edges of the film. Unpleasant staining on the edges of the film is, for example, one of the properties of Gelaskins, whose review you can read here.
The film provides sufficient protection against scratches on the display, for example when iPhone you carry in your pocket with your keys. 3M doesn't boast about the legendary video that shows the impossibility of scratching the screen with a hand sander, but it offers sufficient quality in normal use. Hand on heart, how often do you use a hand sander on your phone's screen.
Summary
If you are discussing with a woman whether she should wear black or white suspenders in the evening, she will probably maxYou will probably encounter interest from your seatmate on a train, plane or bus in your lady's underwear and you don't have to worry about revealing a state secret. In that case, foil is certainly unnecessary. However, if you iPhone or iPad you handle your entire business, enter passwords for online banking or handle company contracts, you will definitely appreciate the protection of this sensitive data and you will happily overlook some of the "side effects". The recommended retail prices of 3M private filters (excluding VAT) are set at 325 CZK for a private filter for iPhone and 722 CZK for iPad.
