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Comment by SiVal | Hacker News Reader

Would a bit of Post-It Note (for minimal adhesion) damage the screen coating if left on most of the time? Would even that much thickness stress the screen when opened and closed thousands of times? Is there a better (self-service) material?

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I’ve used one for years on various MacBooks and it’s very effective. The paper is very thin so it causes no real mechanical stress and also opaque, so all the camera sees is a field the color of that paper.

There’s been no damage to the screen from the adhesive although occasionally I’ve had to clean the residual adhesive with 70% IPA, but nothing worse than the typical grime that most laptop monitors pick up.

Plastic slide covers that stick on are pretty cheap if your laptop doesn't already have one. I also think that the open microphone issue is a greater problem, especially with the current ability of speech-to-text, but what you utter may not be as important as being seen "doing a Toobin" during an online meeting. YMMV :) (I won't expand that acronym!)

> Would a bit of Post-It Note (for minimal adhesion) damage the screen coating if left on most of the time?

Possible, I have one IPS monitor with a spot on screen where the color is pale. I had a post-it note there and I guess something bad happened when I tore it off.

I used electrical pvc tape for many years on my macbooks, no damage but I got tired of them leaving glue residue. Switched to post-its about 10 years ago, works perfectly.

I've never tried them on a matte or coated screen though.

I use painter’s tape for a similar effect.

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