I used a screen protector for the first year or so that I had my captivate (realook is my favorite), then I was replacing it one day and really liked the feel of the screen without it. So I left it off. Two months later, I was at the beach and swiped the screen - apparently there was a small grain of sand on my finger, so now I have a nice long scratch up the middle of the screen. I put a screen protector back on it, and it seems to camouflage the scratch pretty well...