No snoop for you! Apple patent reveals 'privacy screen' feature for iPhones

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iPhone privacy could be boosted by anti-snooping patents

Apple iPhone 15 held in the hand.
(Image credit: Future)

Earlier in the year, there were reports of unlucky users getting permanently locked out of their Apple accounts in targeted iPhone attacks. Scammers would befriend or simply spy on targets, note down their passcode, steal the phone and quickly change the Apple ID password before the owners could lock their account remotely. 

That’s an extreme example of shoulder surfing — where strangers watch your phone screen in use. At the more harmless end, a nosy neighbor might just be reading what you’re typing in iMessage, but it’s still an unwelcome invasion of privacy. And it appears Apple is looking to stop such snoopers in their tracks with a pair of interesting patents.

As spotted by AppleInsider, the first patent outlines a “privacy film” with a “light-blocking layer” as a substrate in the phone screen. The upshot of this would be that people can only see light from the screen if looking directly at it, making it harder for those spying from the sidelines to see what’s going on.

That may be why the second patent provides a more flexible solution to the same problem. The idea here is to create “displays with adjustable angles of view” meaning users could change the angle of view to fit what’s going on. 

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Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.