Where No One Can Hear You Screen!

It’s time for another installment of our semi-regular feature…

THE SKEPTIC’S CHOICE

…wherein we investigate a dubious claim made by a product. Usually, these claims have to do with health. Today’s is a little different. The product promises to improve the health… of your phone.

The Claim

It’s a ceramic coating that can protect your phone screen. Basically, you apply it and it reduces fingerprints and scratching.

The Skepticism

Sounds nice, huh? But right off the bat, our concern is… does it kinda sound too nice? And, furthermore, this seems like something that’s hard to measure. Fewer fingerprints? Are people out there seriously keeping track of their screen’s smudge count?

So, we went snooping around and found this Reddit thread, where user AurelleahEverfree expresses curiosity about the concept (though not the exact product we’re selling today):

“I wonder if anyone’s tried [ceramic coating a phone], and if it would fill in microscratches on the surface or help protect from microscratches without needing a screen protector. I also wonder if it’d make the front glass slick, and reduce fingerprints.”

What follows is a 40+ comment discussion. Here’s the top one:

“I put it on my camera lense and front screen. No issues. Doesn’t really add anything to be honest I don’t think but meh. I also fabric coat my shoes lmao.”

First off, we agree with this user whose account has since been deleted: “meh. I…s… c…o…o…l.” Moreover, this comment is basically the entire thread in microcosm. What we have here is a long chain of people basically saying, ‘IDK, might work, might not.’

And this is Reddit we’re talking about, where most threads are filled with such bold and authoritative takes that you might think the site was a consortium of none but the most highly-qualified doctors, economists, senators, and referees. So what kind of black magic must this ceramic phone coating employ if it reduces the usually brash Redditors to a bunch of head-scratching, shoulder-shrugging “maybe”-mumblers?

It’s concerning, to say the least.

The Conclusion

At the end of the day, it’s a 5-pack of this stuff for 5 bucks. There’s a chance it does nothing at all. But there’s also a chance that it does… something. Or a chance that the placebo effect will make you feel like it did something. Which is not a crazy exciting way to pitch something, but like we just said: we’re talking 5 whole dollars here, okay? Give it a try if you want.