Patent could block others from looking over your shoulder

May 25, 2015 07:26 GMT  ·  By

Those awkward moments when you're working on your laptop or typing a message on your phone and someone next to you takes a peek at your screen will soon become history thanks to a new technology developed by Microsoft.

A patent filed by Microsoft and recently spotted by Patently Mobile reveals that Redmond created a backlight system for device displays that makes it more difficult to see what's on a screen if you're not sitting right in front of it.

It's all possible with angular light intensity profiles, which Microsoft says would ensure privacy on a wide variety of devices, including notebooks, smartphones, tablets, and PCs.

“A display device may include a backlight that emits light having different intensity profiles, such that backlighting with a narrow angular band may be used for private viewing while backlighting with a wider angular band may be used for shared viewing,” the patent reads, according to the aforementioned source.

Apple also developed its own privacy feature

While Microsoft's new system could indeed be a godsend if we take into consideration that working in public places is a nightmare, especially when connected to the company's network, this isn't the first time when a company attempts to develop a display that would provide greater privacy.

Apple, for instance, created a similar technology in 2011, but it is yet to come to the market, so it remains to be seen which company actually introduces it faster.

Needless to say, there's no indication that Microsoft would put this new display technology in mass production anytime in the near future, and it's pretty clear that many would need it to remain productive on the go without fears of privacy violations.

On the other hand, such a display would make collaboration a little bit more difficult, as showing someone next to you a graph or a document on your laptop or PC would be harder unless they stay in front of the screen.