Peekless: Privacy Screen

Peekless is a privacy screen shade for people who read things on their phone in public.

Most anti peek apps black out the whole screen when you tilt the phone. That hides it from the person beside you — and from you. Peekless takes the opposite approach: it covers the screen and opens a window on the line you are actually reading. A glance from the side gets the cover, not the context.

WHAT YOU GET

• Spotlight — the default. A movable window shows one band of the screen while the rest stays covered. Keep scrolling, keep typing, keep the shade on.
• Even dim — dims the whole screen and lays a fine pattern over it, for when you just want less to be legible.
• Panic cover — tilt the phone and the screen goes fully dark. It hides the screen from you too, so it is a button you reach for, not the default.
• Floating handle — tap to pause, drag to move the window, hold to turn the shade off.
• Home screen widget — one tap turns the shade on or off without opening the app.
• Adjustable cover opacity, window size and shape, pattern strength and tilt angle.

HONEST ABOUT WHAT IT IS

Peekless draws a cover on top of your screen. It is not a polarizing privacy filter and it is not the hardware privacy display built into some newer phones. Someone glancing over your shoulder cannot read most of the screen. Someone standing directly behind you and reading along still can, and no app can stop a screenshot or a camera. The app says all of this on its own How it works screen, before you need it.

NOTHING LOCKED, NOTHING COLLECTED

Every feature is free. There is no subscription, no trial that turns into a charge, and no feature waiting behind an ad. The app never reads, records or captures what is on your screen — it only draws on top. Your settings stay on your device. No account, no sign-up, no server.

PERMISSIONS

"Display over other apps" is the whole job: it is what lets the app draw the shade over whatever you are looking at. It grants no access to the screen underneath. Notifications are optional and used for the shade's on/off control and an optional reminder; decline them and everything still works.

GOOD FOR

Reading messages on a crowded train. Checking a bank balance in a queue. Working through email in a cafe with people behind you. Opening a document on a plane. Anywhere a screen is easier to read over your shoulder than you would like.

Turn the shade on with one tap, from the app or the home screen widget. Turn it off three ways: the notification, the floating handle, or the widget.