These new laptops have a special screen so nobody can snoop over your shoulder

Impact

If you often find yourself in public spaces with the urge to do some shameful internet surfing or are just a private person, HP just gave you one reason to consider buying one of its new laptops — they want to stop snoopers. 

HP's privacy feature — Sure View — is a new screen that, with the press of the F2 button, flips the screen from a regular wide viewing angle mode (come one, come all, to the spectacle of my web surfing) into an private mode (sorry, suckers, the show is over), Ars Technica reported. 

The feature dims the screen, only allowing those within a 70-degree arc directly in front of it to see what's on the screen, cutting off 95 percent of the light coming off of both sides of it, according to the Verge. This privacy feature will be available on HP's two upcoming laptops — the EliteBook 1040 and EliteBook 840, with a September release date.

As Ars Technica notes, the Sure View feature is only available in screens on less expensive laptops, but HP is reportedly working on making this anti-snoop feature available for higher-end devices.