Switchable Privacy Film & Privacy Glass
Switchable privacy film — also sold as switchable privacy glass or electric privacy glass — is glass that you can turn opaque or transparent with a switch. Applied as a film, it converts the glass you already have instead of replacing it.
The vocabulary, decoded
Buyers arrive at this product with half a dozen different names for it, and the names get used interchangeably by manufacturers. Here is how they actually relate:
- Switchable privacy film — the retrofit film applied to existing glass. This is what we install.
- Switchable privacy glass / electric privacy glass — usually a manufactured glass unit with the layer laminated inside, though the terms are also used loosely for the film retrofit.
- Smart film, smart tint, smart window film — consumer-facing names for the same PDLC film.
- Retrofit smart glass — smart-glass performance achieved by filming existing glass.
Switchable film vs. traditional frosted or decorative film
Traditional frosted and decorative film is permanent. It is inexpensive, it needs no power or wiring at all, and for the large majority of privacy problems it is still the right answer — a bathroom sidelite that should always be private does not need a switch on the wall.
Switchable film earns its cost only where the room genuinely needs both states. A conference room that must read as open and transparent to the floor most of the week and completely private during a board meeting is the textbook case. An exam room that needs supervision sight-lines between patients and privacy during one is another.
If you are weighing the two, our traditional privacy film page covers the permanent options in depth, and we will tell you plainly during the survey when the cheaper product is the better fit.
What privacy actually means here
In the frosted state, shapes and light pass through and detail does not — this is privacy in the sense of an obscured bathroom window, not a solid wall. It is not a security product, it is not a blackout product, and it does not stop sound. Where a glass wall needs acoustic separation, that is a glazing and partition question, not a film question.
Published specifications
Published manufacturer figures for the PDLC material platform we install.
- Switching states
- OFF = frosted / private · ON = clear
- Transition
- Immediate
- UV protection
- Up to 99.99%
- Maximum cut width
- 5.9 ft
Power off returns the glass to its private, frosted state.
No moving parts, no blinds, no track hardware.
Length is unlimited; wider openings are split into multiple panels.
Frequently asked
What is switchable privacy film?
A PDLC film applied to existing glass that switches between a frosted, private state and a clear state when low voltage is applied. It gives glass two modes instead of one, controlled by a wall switch, remote or compatible smart control.
Is switchable privacy glass the same as switchable privacy film?
They deliver the same effect. Switchable privacy glass usually refers to a factory-made glass unit with the layer laminated inside; switchable privacy film applies the layer to glass you already own, so no glazing has to be replaced.
Can you see through switchable privacy film when it is off?
No. In the off state it reads as an even frost — light passes through, detail does not. It obscures the view the way a frosted bathroom window does; it is not a blackout product and it does not darken a room.
Should I use switchable film or regular frosted film?
Use permanent frosted or decorative film when the opening should always be private — it costs far less and needs no power. Use switchable film only where the room genuinely needs to be both open and private at different times, such as a conference room or an exam room.
Talk through your glass with someone who has measured a few thousand openings
Smart film cannot be priced from a photo — panels are fabricated to your exact openings and the wiring has to physically exist. A short on-site survey turns that into a real number.