13 patents in this list
Updated: June 08, 2024
Through the phone's screen, spies can monitor activity or steal personal information. Privacy screens provide an answer by preventing anyone other than the user from seeing your screen.
These displays must, however, efficiently block out unwanted spectators while preserving the clarity for the user They must be robust, resistant to scratches, and capable of touchscreen operation.
This page looks at several phone cases that have built-in privacy screens to improve device security.
Laith Warraiat, 2023
A smartphone privacy device that attaches to the back of a smartphone and has flaps and a shield to obscure cameras and microphones. This allows selective isolation of the smartphone's audio and visual input to limit surveillance and spying. The device has a lower flap to cover the bottom microphone and speaker, an upper flap to cover the top microphone and camera, and a rear shield to cover the rear microphone and camera. The flaps and shield have rubber gaskets to insulate the smartphone from the audio input further.
Dell Products, L.P., 2023
Privacy shield design for cameras on devices like laptops, tablets, and smartphones that prevent unauthorized access to the camera feed. The shield uses a light-emitting film over the lens that can be activated to saturate the camera sensor. When the shield is deployed, it emits light to overwhelm the sensor and prevent the camera from capturing usable images. This prevents hackers from viewing or recording anything through the camera, even if they manage to hijack it. The shield is positioned at a distance from the focal point based on the lens's focal length to allow normal image capture without the shield in place.
ConfiVox Inc., 2022
Portable device accessory that can block a device's screen like a smartphone to provide privacy when viewing sensitive content. The accessory attaches to the back of the device and has a pivoting shield that can be moved between a storage position on the back and a blocking position over the screen. When blocked, the shield extends over the device's front face to cover the screen. The shield can have features like a cloth to obscure the view further. The accessory can attach using mechanisms like clips, hooks, magnets, or a moving plate. This allows the shield to pivot and slide into place.
Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd., 2021
Display device with privacy protection that reduces viewing angles to prevent unauthorized viewing of displayed content. The display device has an anti-peep member that can move between two states. In the first state, the anti-peep member covers the display screen to reduce viewing angles. In the second state, the anti-peep member is removed from the screen to restore normal viewing angles. The anti-peep member has a shielding part to block light and a transparent part. Moving the anti-peep member can reduce viewing angles without affecting the display in the second state. This prevents accidental viewing of sensitive content when the display is in public view.
Sang-Ho Moon, 2021
Deleting the lines of sight of people nearby is a simple process, and a privacy screen can be deployed to physically block lines of sight other than the immediate user's to the mobile device screen. The screens prevent the inadvertent disclosure of private information on the mobile device.
Kurt Bulawa, Trang Tran, 2020
Thin, customizable camera covers for devices like laptops and smartphones that can be easily opened and closed to block or expose the camera. The cover has a retractable door that adheres to the device base when closed and can peel open to reveal the camera. The door can also detach and slide left or right using magnets to expose or hide the camera. The cover can be custom-branded on both the base and door. The goal is to provide a reliable, thin, and customizable way to securely block the camera when not in use to prevent unauthorized access without needing to remove or disable the camera physically.
John Nguyen, 2020
A colored pouch with multiple openings to conceal the screen of a mobile electronic device while still permitting users to access and control the device through the openings when necessary. The pouch provides a balance between eliminating distractions from the device's screen and allowing important functions like answering calls, making calls, unlocking with fingerprint, recording audio, making commands, and connecting to ports.
Francis J. Eckert, 2019
This is a privacy and glare shield for portable electronic devices like phones and PDAs that can be attached to a frame holder. The shield has deployable side screens that pivot outward to enclose the device screen and block side views. It also has adjustable apertures to access buttons and the camera. The shield can be removed from the frame holder if desired.
HIKARI HAJIME LLC, 2018
A cradle for portable electronic devices like smartphones or tablets provides privacy protection while the device is in it. The cradle has features like an opaque or translucent shield over the device's front camera to block its view, a colored cover that hides the device's housing, and a block to cover the device's microphone hole.
Stefan Leipold, 2017
A non-adhesive privacy screen for electronic devices that can be easily attached and removed without leaving residue. The screen has magnetic components aligned with magnets in the device display to retain it without adhesive. This allows the screen to be quickly and repeatedly attached and removed without damaging the device or leaving adhesive residue. The magnetic components are integrated into the screen itself, so it can have a smooth back surface that doesn't require adhesive.
BlackBerry Limited, 2017
Privacy feature for electronic devices like smartphones that makes it difficult for others to see the display when the device is not held in a specific orientation. The feature obfuscates the screen content when the privacy mode is engaged, but when the device is held in the calibrated viewing position, the content becomes legible. This leverages the concept of anamorphosis, where distorted images appear normal when viewed from a specific perspective. By rendering display content within the device's display on a non-parallel plane, it creates a 3D effect that requires the correct viewing angle to see correctly.
CONFIVOX INC., 2017
Privacy shield for mobile devices to block surrounding sounds during calls and enhance user privacy. The shield has a microphone-directing sound guide to capture user's voice. It attaches to the device using a hinge or slides onto a track. The shield pivots or slides to cover the user's mouth. This allows the user to block out background noise while still being heard clearly over the device's microphone.
BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD., BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., 2015
Mobile phone case with a light-shielding film to limit screen viewing angles and prevent prying. The case has a base plate, top cover, connection member, and at least one light-shielding film between them. The light-shielding film blocks some light from the phone screen to limit viewing angles. A rotating connection allows the film to turn around the connection point. This enables the user to adjust the viewing angle while still blocking light from the side. The rotating connection also allows easy film replacement.
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A variety of integrated privacy screen solutions for mobile phone cases are demonstrated by the patents showcased. These include rotating shields to hide the screen, light-emitting films to turn off cameras, retractable or adjustable privacy screens, and detachable flaps and shields to obscure cameras and microphones.