Robert Ramsey, CEO, Rain Technology, on directional display technology that improves the overall utility and visual security of devices.
Imagine a world where you can control the visual privacy of your mobile phone with embedded features like GPS or camera functions.
Or, as a mobile device manufacturer, imagine putting a powerful new privacy utility in the hands of consumers, application developers, and IT departments.
This is the world enabled by a new hardware display innovation that is being commercialized for enterprises that prioritize fraud prevention, data security and IT policy as well as consumers concerned about visual security, identity theft and data privacy.
Previously only available and used by enterprises for LCD, this technology has been out of reach for smartphones that are predominantly OLED. For the first time, an adaptation of LCD technology for OLED has now made it possible for wide adoption.
OLED Switchable Privacy technology is the first built-in display alternative to the billions of dollars spent on aftermarket privacy screen protectors. Specifically, it is a liquid crystal layer embedded in the display panel of any device that directs and controls light from the display to combat against visual hackers, snoopers and shoulder surfers. This gives manufacturers and supply chain partners of consumer electronics, ATMs, POS and automotive displays an unprecedented level of automated visual security and fraud prevention by automatically or manually switching the screen from a public share mode to a privacy mode.
State of OLED: Imperatives for Mobile Phones, Laptops and Automotives
OLED displays provide excellent image quality with brighter colors, faster motion, and higher contrast than LCDs and, therefore, have been widely adopted in devices including laptops, televisions, point of sale devices, tablets and automotives. OLED is generally considered premium display technology and accordingly is priced higher than LCDs.
When a consumer shops for high-end trim levels of automotives or high-specification laptops, tablets, monitors or televisions, OLED is usually the technology found in the displays of these premium models.
In particular, OLED has seen the greatest unit adoption in the area of mobile phones, especially the premium segment, including the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy series.
With the ubiquity of OLED in mobile, OLED Switchable Privacy represents an impressive breakthrough in display technology for the mobile segment. To date, Switchable Privacy has been unavailable to the manufacturers of mobile phones and other OLED devices due to the challenges of controlling the significantly greater field of view from OLED displays versus LCD.
OLED Switchable Privacy makes customer information and digital interactions more private and more secure, in addition to putting this power in every individual’s hands. Switchable Privacy’s availability for OLED brings a desired premium feature to the preferred display technology for the best mobile devices on the market.
State of Mobile Privacy: Imperatives for Enterprises and Consumers
Data privacy is a fundamental human right backed supported by legislation.
In the US, identity theft alone accounted for over $10 billion of losses in 2023 and is expected to grow at 14% annually.
The aftermarket for privacy screens is more than $1 billion and is expected to double over the next five years. However, there are notable drawbacks to the aftermarket privacy film approach, including reduction of light, permanent limitation of viewing angle, inability to use camera features, reduced touch sensitivity, challenges sharing content or collaborating with others and challenges with QR or barcode scanning.
Stick-on privacy screens do not have the durability of a built-in solution and also can have problems with installation and removal, including the appearance of bubbles, off-center installation and problems with adhesive removal.
The benefits of an electronically Switchable Privacy solution are many, impacting consumers, enterprise IT and developers:
- For consumers, it is imperative to protect personal privacy and confidential information. OLED Switchable Privacy provides automated or voluntary privacy mechanisms that can be utilized to safeguard against snoopers and identity theft and also to secure private mobile interactions in public places, from social to messaging to gaming to content consumption.
- For enterprise IT, it is imperative to protect confidential information and ensure regulatory compliance in addition to decreasing the reliance upon employees themselves to be proactive around information security. OLED Switchable Privacy provides an automated privacy enforcement mechanism that can be utilized by enterprises across both internal and third-party applications to secure confidential information. Driven by IT policy, Switchable Privacy complements cybersecurity by protecting against threats to information security in the physical environment, wherever the employee may be working.
- For application developers, OLED Switchable Privacy offers new possibilities to safeguard user privacy while utilizing mobile applications, from social to gaming to banking. Whenever sensitive content or private information is displayed or entered, developers will have the ability to enforce or offer privacy protection to users, building privacy into the fabric of the mobile application experience.
Technology Breakthrough
Rain Technology holds the patent for creating a thin, embedded proprietary layer within the OLED display module of a display screen. The patented approach is focused on directing and controlling the light coming out of the display, allowing for privacy to be switched on and off.
The design parameters are determined during panel manufacturing and activated by a hardware or software trigger, electronically switching a display from share mode to privacy mode, controlling the viewing angle. This switching can occur in under a millisecond and can be activated manually or automatically through software.
The technology can enable as little as 0.3% screen visibility from a 45° viewing angle. The approach is compatible with OLED, LCD, mini-LED and micro-LED displays.
Specifically, Rain Technology’s OLED Switchable Privacy solution is based upon its prior success and intellectual property with its LCD solution. OLED is an organic light-emitting diode, in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is an organic compound film that emits light in response to an electric current. This means that each pixel is controlled individually and emits its own light, unlike LCDs where the light comes from a backlighting element. Rain Technology has adapted its LCD technology to OLED by focusing on controlling this additional light, utilizing proprietary LCD technology and polarization techniques.