Apple's New Initiative Could Stop Screen Peeping

This article provides a clear overview of Apple's New Initiative Could Stop Screen Peeping, with the main facts, useful context, and practical details organized for easy reading.

Recently, the US Patent and Trademark Office has approved a patent application from Cupertino regarding a new technology called 'Gaze-Dependent Display Encryption'. The device can automatically identify the interaction of the device owner and strangers to prevent screen peeking anytime, anywhere. In addition, only the screen areas that the 'owner' user is using are displayed, the rest of the screen will be blurred or encrypted.

To do so, Apple will have to take advantage of a variety of sensors and front camera on the device to track the user's eyes. The camera will be used to recognize the face of the person looking at the screen, while the other sensors will take care of eye tracking, then combine the collected information together. If the person looking at the screen is not the owner of the device, the screen will immediately be dimmed or encrypted wherever their eyes are facing, making them unable to read the content currently displayed. Marketing.

Apple said the initiative was inspired by BlackBerry's Privacy Shadow feature. However, BlackBerry's solution requires users to move their fingers across the screen in which they want to read information. Moreover, Privacy Shadow also completely blacks out the rest of the content, which can be counterproductive, drawing more attention from curious people.

Apple's New Initiative Could Stop Screen Peeping example screenshot 1 — Description of Apple's patent

To be able to obscure content in a smart way and not affect user interaction needs, Apple will most likely need AI help. Artificial intelligence technology can learn the user's habits to decide whether or not to encrypt the content on the screen under different circumstances, such as where the user is standing and which applications are being used. use.

Apple's approval of a patent application does not mean that the technology will certainly be put into practice. In the past, many of the features described in Apple's patents did not become a reality. But obviously this is an interesting and extremely necessary feature and hope it will soon appear on Apple branded products in the near future.