3M Gold Privacy Filter Gold

The company that brought us post-it notes, scotch tape, and so many other great products has now delivered an excellent way to safeguard confidential data, passwords, and other personal information. This quality, American-made product works great and installation is quite easy! I would definitely recommend this for anyone who deals with confidential information or needs privacy when using his or her laptop.PROS:+ beautiful opaque gold color when "out of range" (reminds me of solar visor on astronaut helmets)+ 4 way privacy: privacy filter appears when too far right, too far left, too far up, and too far down+ easy installation (instructions below)+ provides protection from dust+ high quality+ American madeCONS:- expensive in absolute terms- only one person can look at laptop screen at a time- installation tabs may take away from the "sleek appeal" of the laptopINSTALLATION:1) clean laptop screen with microfiber cloth2) tear apart installation tabs at perforated area3) remove backing from the long tabs4) put one long tab on lower-left side of laptop and one on lower-right so that they hang over the edge where the laptop screen starts (there should be some room between where the tab hangs over and the laptop screen - this will be where you fit the filter)5) put one short tab on upper-left side of laptop and one on upper-right so that they hang over the edge where the laptop screen starts6) put one short tab on bottom, left side of laptop and one on bottom, right so that they hang over the edge where the laptop screen starts7) slide filter between the space between the tabs and the screen BEING CAREFUL NOT TO SCRATCH YOUR LAPTOP SCREEN8) (optional) put one short tab on top, left side of laptop and one on top, right so that they hang over the edge where the laptop screen starts9) enjoy your new-found privacy!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this privacy filter, but this thing it's worth its weight in "gold" (I have the Gold version). I primarily use it on planes and fellow passengers sitting next to me cannot see what is on my screen. Why there are so many blind people on my flights, I don't know.All jokes aside, my fellow passengers (seated next to me) cannot see what is on my screen unless they lean over into my personal space. And I'm not about to have that. And at almost any angle (other than looking at the screen head-on), it becomes very difficult to view the screen. All one sees is goooold.I appreciate this 3M privacy filter so much, that I bought it's 14 inch sibling as well.The only issues I have are 1) slight delamination in one corner of the filter, 2) the system 3M has for attaching the filter to my screen.Issue 1: For me, the delamination was solved easily by dripping a bit of super glue in between the layers (that were coming apart) and squeezing together for about 5 seconds. At least for me, there was no loss of clarity in that tiny section of the privacy filter.Issue 2: In my opinion, the system 3M provides for attaching the privacy filter to the screen needs to be improved. The tabs they provide come over the screen slightly. While it does not impede my work, initially it was annoying until I got used to it. Now I don't notice it.A possible solution for my 2nd issue above could be the following - full disclosure, I have not tried this - I could order a size up and then trim the filter so it fits over the screen and onto my laptop's bezel. And then I could just use clear scotch tape to attach the edge of the privacy filter to the bezel and not the side of the screen. This way no tape (or tabs) would be over any part of the screen.This is another great product from 3M. In my experience, I found that it pays to pay a little bit more and go with 3M. I have purchased all sorts of products from this brand over the years, and for whatever reason, in my experience every single product was more effective at what it's supposed to do then competitor brands. I'm a fan.

I fly quite a bit, and a lot of what I work on is what I consider to be sensitive, often including my customers intellectual property. Whether I'm working on-site at a customer or on a plane, there was often the worry of being shoulder surfed, and especially when you are at a client site and you can't arrange to have your back to a wall. These privacy screens are very VERY good, well worth the investment to protect from prying eyes. Even at a mere 45 degrees off of center it becomes difficult to view the contents of the screen. I still get amused by the comments about the very red or bright gold appearing screen.The contrast and brightness is excellent. Unlike the old grey screens, I don't feel as though I need to turn the backlight all the way to max.There are a couple of issues, however.1.) that these screens tend to pick up every little smudge and spec of dirt. But, while the screen is deployed I don't notice it that much, and I may just be a little messy. I'm working on something for that (like a RadTech cloth).2.) While the right to left privacy is excellent, the vertical privacy is typically not. I wouldn't trade one for the other. This is just an observation and one that probably can't be easily remedied while still allowing flexibility for the person sitting in front of the screen.