Canadian tech giant BlackBerry just released a new Android app called BlackBerry Privacy Shade. Like its name suggests, this mobile tool will allow you to use your smartphone in a crowd without letting people around you see the contents of your screen. BlackBerry Privacy Shade accomplishes this goal by hiding everything except for an extremely small portion of the screen that you can easily move around, all while still allowing you to interact with the rest of your screen. The app essentially blacks out most of your display and lets you choose between interacting with your phone through a small circular or rectangular window that can be resized on the go. BlackBerry Privacy Shade can be activated by tapping a Quick Settings icon or a persistent notification that can also be switched off depending on your preferences.
Apart from providing you with some privacy in crowded areas, BlackBerry Privacy Shade can also be used as an alternative to a night mode seeing how it makes reading content in the dark much easier on the eyes. As expected, the Canadian tech giant developed its latest Android app exclusively for BlackBerry-branded handsets, so you likely won’t be able to download it directly from the Google Play Store unless you own a device like the DTEK60. However, numerous owners of other Android devices recently took online to confirm that BlackBerry Privacy Shade works just as well on officially unsupported smartphones. You can sideload the app by downloading its APK file from somewhere and manually installing it, just make sure you’ve checked the option to install apps from “Unknown sources” in the Settings app of your phone.
Owners of BlackBerry devices don’t have to go through that hassle and can simply download BlackBerry’s latest Android app by following the Google Play Store link below. The app is currently enjoying a positive reception from users as its average rating is sitting at 4.9 stars even after approximately 250 reviews. BlackBerry Privacy Shade technically requires a device running Android 5.0 Lollipop or newer versions of Google’s operating system, is free to download, and features zero ads and in-app purchases. Some screenshots of the app are available in the gallery below.
