I can’t sleep on planes, so I’m one of those people who always pulls out a laptop to get some work done. My problem (other than fighting for elbow space on the arm rests) is that the lack of privacy on my laptop screen makes me uncomfortable.

Privacy screens have been around for decades, but I never thought they were for me. I never liked the idea of permanently (or even semi-permanently) altering the display of my laptop due to the adhesives used. The last thing I'd want to do is pay for a MacBook Pro's brilliant Mini-LED display only to hamper it by gluing a sheet of plastic over it.

But I came across a magnetic option, and that intrigued me. Unlike the kind that stick to your laptop screen (kind of like a standard screen protector), this one didn't use adhesives at all. This means—in theory—that they're easy to pop on and off. And once I tried it, I was sold.

The internet is filled with different versions of this, and they all work essentially the same. But the one I used is the Targus 4Vu Magnetic Privacy Screen for my MacBook Pro. You need to get something that fits your device's screen size exactly, and you really want to make sure it’s magnetic.

While I didn't have a flight coming up, I have been bringing this out to coffee shops with me. And while someone sitting directly behind could still see my screen, I found a new freedom in doing my work in public once I had this on my laptop. One thing that concerned me at first: How easy would it be to store such a thing? Accidentally bending the screen in a bag would really ruin the experience.