NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — A Kurdish inventor in Turkey has solved a problem many of us face while using our phones in public – how to protect what we’re looking at from prying eyes.
Celal Goger invented a secrecy screen for iPhones that enables only the user to view what is on the screen thanks to a special chip in a pair of sunglasses.
“For the moment, it is working with a single chip, but if I have the opportunity I want to improve this. I want to upgrade the chip and plan to make a nanotechnology chip,” he told Reuters.
“If I succeed, it will be possible to adapt the chip to all kinds of glasses. Users will attach this nanotechnology chip on either the right or left side of the glasses and enable it to communicate with their iPhone.”
Goger, who lives in southeastern Turkey, worked on the first chip for half a year.
“I made the first one in six months, the second one in four months. The third one took me two months. Now I can make them in ten days.”
The invention attracted a lot of attention from the men on the streets of Goger’s hometown of Bismil, many of whom said they had experienced the same problem of not wanting others to see what they are viewing on their phones.
“The mobile’s screen is completely white, nothing can be seen, you can’t see the menu. He gave me the glasses and, when I put them on, I saw the complete menu. If I had this on my mobile, nobody would see what I’m looking at or which apps I’m using when I’m commuting,” said Bismil resident Nevah Ayhan.
“I hope he will begin mass production so we can benefit from this invention because people can have private photos, text messages, emails or they can make personal calls. We have things we don’t want others to see and we cannot currently look at those private messages and feel secure,” said another local, Ahmet Ugur.
Goger said making an invisible iPhone screen costs him just four U.S. dollars, but that an updated version that is adaptable to different glasses might cost as much as ten U.S. dollars to make.
He hopes to being selling the product after registering a copyright for an invisible iPhone screen.
