Window film (or the proper term, Window Security Film) is a great companion solution to ballistic window shades:

• Security film is designed to inhibit people from getting in, but it won't stop bullets.

• Ballistic shades will stop bullets, but it won't stop people from getting in.

As an intruder deterrent (stopping someone trying to break through the window with blunt objects), window security films can be a very effective addition to your security plan.  

But some suppliers claim that films can stop bullets, so why not just use film? Isn't window film bulletproof? Not on standard window glass, it isn't. But don't just take our word for it; these experts can explain the conflicting answers.

Read what The Wall Street Journal had to say about bullet-resistant window film Schools Spend Millions on a Safety Measure to Stop Bullets. It Doesn't Work.

Some key experts from the article*:

• "The largest U.S. manufacturers of window film, including 3M, say it can't stop bullets or intruders. But that hasn't stopped some window-film dealers from cashing in on false or exaggerated claims of ballistic protection."

• "...state officials watched the bullet strike the film-coated glass. "It just went right through," he said. "It failed right in front of the whole group."

• "...the demonstrations (showing bullet-resistance) might mislead school officials because it implies that "if you took a film and put it on the existing glass in your building, that you should expect the same sort of (bulletproof) performance..."

*Sara Randazzo and Zusha Elinson. "Schools Squander Millions to 'Bulletproof' Windows. It Doesn't Work." The Wall Street Journal, 22 Dec. 2024, https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/school-shootings-security-protection-failure-9cda35d1

The International Window Film Association (IWFA), supported by most of the major film manufacturers, made this statement regarding bullet-resistant films:

"...we firmly believe that an individual glazing (window glass) should be tested both with and without film installed on it for any comparison of improvement in total performance. In some cases, we have seen demonstrations or claims that the use of film imparted some bullet resistant value when, in fact, the glazing itself without film had almost those same bullet resistant qualities.." - IWFA Statement on Protection from and against Ballistics

More input from window film experts on the existence of ballistic window film

• Security Industry Association (SIA) Guest Post: The Problematic Rise of "Bulletproof" Window Film in Schools – What Administrators and Legislators Need to Know

• Nation Glazing Solutions (NGS) Is There Such Thing as Ballistic Film?

• DEFENSELITE FAQs on "Bullet Resistant" and “Bullet Proof” Window Film?

• Covenant Security Equipment Can Security Film Actually Stop a Bullet?

The experts all have the same advice: bulletproof film does not exist. If the expectation is that applying films to the EXISTING building glass is that it will suddenly become bullet-resistant, that is not going to be the case. Test results that seem to prove otherwise appear to have been done with glass that is not typically used in commercial or residential construction.

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