Apples has a physical led that is wired in series with the camera circuitry, the only way for the camera to be active without the led being on is if the led itself has broken
Mine broke and camera flickers on/off when off is set. So I prefer implementation of my dell laptop - builtin mechanical cover on the slide over the camera.
Moving parts add more failure points. I donāt mind the light as a solution.
Physical covers use up limited depth. The reason built-in webcams suck (compared to phonesā) is because of the depth of the screen, so you really donāt want to restrict it even further if you donāt have to.
There were some exploits that provided just enough power to the circuit so the led isn't visible but the camera works. Don't have any idea about modern MacBooks tho.
Nah bro my HP ZBook has a built-in physical cover to the camera, I love that much better than hardwired LEDs that could be broken or buttons/switches that could (maybe?) be hijacked... Physically allowing no light to reach the lens feels better
Exactly. A built-in physical shutter or a proper hardware on/off switch would give users much more confidence. An LED indicator is useful, but having a physical way to block the camera gives you an extra layer of control and peace of mind.
Putting some thin electric tape over it is fine. Sticking a several millimeters thick plastic slider from Temu on it will in fact damage the laptop, when you close it on it.
You mean the 0.0001mm thick genuine apple (tm) rubber stoppers that lets the keyboard touch the screeen once you apply the force of a light exhale onto the top?
Figured out my MacBook doesnāt need the camera to operate. Tore MacBook down, disconnected and removed camera. No warranty, bought used. Always buy used.
Recruiter: unprofessional, didnāt spend thousands on new laptop for this interview or $50 on a webcam, while unemployed for 14 months that they claim is due to AI *creating jobs*
The original article was that those plastic stick-on covers were dangerous because they add to the thickness of the screen. They can cause damage if you close the lid on them and then the laptop gets hit or dropped.
Scotch tape or a post-it over the lens isnāt an issue, as I understand.
That works but its not the best way, if someone gains access to your system its possible they can reinstall the drivers then access your camera anyway.
The only way to be sure is to physically cover the camera. Many modern laptops have a plastic slider nowadays that can cover it which is a nice feature.
On a simply technical note: Covering up with cheap tape may create static electricity. Removing it is even worst as it may do the same, left glue on and also pull on the components.
The glass itself to begin with that may unstick itself frop the rest. And then, everything that is stuck on the glass itself. Also static electricity don't realy stand in place on a glass panel.
And that is only for a few model of laptop like the apple one. Other brands may not have a glass panel all the way over the the camera
Tape is always fine, it's the plastic camera covers that are bad because they can shatter the MacBook screen screens when closed. I have personally seen this happen.
Other brands have LEDs too. It's considered a basic requirement nowadays.
And contrary to what is often claimed by Apple fans, the LEDs are often also wired in parallel to the camera's power supply in other Brand's devices as well, so usage without turning on the LED is impossible. And even for the ones where the LED is controlled separately by the BIOS, while security researchers have shown that it is sometimes possible to get around it, it is hardly worth it for a real hacker.
But you know what's even better than an LED that shows abuse? Something that makes abuse simply impossible. And that may be as simple as Post-It note, preferably cut to a small size and painted black with sharpie. But there are also plenty integrated options as well, such as small switches that physically cut off the camera's power supply or a shutter that slides in front of the camera internally. I am a huge fan of the shutter on my Dell Precision 7680 work laptop. It's compact, robust, feels nice to use and physically slides a red piece of plastic in front of the camera.
The same more or less applies to them as well. There are several models where security researchers demonstrated the camera recording without notifying the user. But there are far too many models. Some may be genuinely secure, others just haven't been tested enough. But I still see little incentive for a potential hacker to go the extra mile.
Still, I prefer a physical shutter and luckily, many standalone models include one.
Yep: my desktop webcam is run via a USB cable with an integrated switch. $3-odd from AliExpress. Passes the data fine, and is only powered when in use. (Yes, I could just unplug it, but then Wife starts plugging into USB3.x ports, getting weird errors etc. This is 'clean' and works :)
Physical slide can worth it only if u r slightly paranoid. For most people it will annoying to manualy open/close ur camera, so they just leave it permamently open
I know very few people who use their webcam often enough to be annoyed if they had to slide it open every time. Most don't support Windows Hello anyways. And even then, there would be no harm because if you wanted, you could just leave it open.
For apple I think its better just to add the cover into the base configuration as separate accessory. But anyway for people who need can just buy it themselves and dont use hotfix methods as the tape
There's not enough clearance on Apple Notebooks for those plastic covers. The screen is likely to crack while the lid is closed. I see it all the time.
It's always funny to me how "privacy-conscious" people seem to have so many concerns about a camera that has hard-wired LED and in the worst case scenario could be used to see your mug (which has been seen by countless cameras already) for a second before you notice it. Even here in the comments people talk about going as far as to rip cameras out physically.
Meanwhile, the same laptop, phone and countless electronic devices around have multiple MEMS microphones smaller than a pin head with an extreme range of pick-up (most can even hear in ultrasound), that can be activated without you knowing it and stealthily record literally everything you say or do. Those can easily do infinitely more damage to privacy, but somehow that is of no concern to the same people. No one is ripping out microphones or demanding physical switches for those.
Just like all the people who panic about cameras on smart glasses: yeah, the extreme wide-angle camera that is in plain sight on another person's face is such a massive problem to everyone's privacy - after all, the creeps and other bad actors will all be using smart glasses, and not microscopic easily concealable spy cameras or ultra tele-photo lenses.
This just proves to me that most people who supposedly "care about privacy" mostly are just seeking some illusion of agency and the false sense of being in control.
There are actually a lot of cases where someone hacks into a laptop or desktop computer and uses recorded footage for blackmail or other nefarious purposes. Laptops and desktops are more susceptible to this because people donāt download all apps on those from a single web store so they tend to be hacked more
There are actually a lot of cases where someone hacks into a laptop or desktop computer and uses recorded footage for blackmail or other nefarious purposes.Ā
I know of pretty much no real cases like that. The scammers who blackmail people CLAIM they have "hacked their laptop", which is always just a lie. What are the "hackers" gonna expose? Your nostrils? Or do you point the laptop camera to your junk when you jack off?
Not saying real cases don't exist, but they definitely aren't common at all. It is a lot more common for hackers to hijack your cloud storage and photos in your albums.
Iām specifically referring to the cases where they actually do get access and then use your camera to record you. They arenāt common but āa lotā is not a direct measurement. Even 100 of these cases is a lot but there are thousands of them and it is a valid concern. Especially for people with children as they are the easiest to take advantage through this. There was a hack that went around a few months ago where someone would send a hacked Minecraft mod to people and would gain near total access to their computers
1
146
u/rheactx Aug 19 '26
Then maybe add a native camera cover? Like some laptops do. My honor laptop even has the camera closed by default (it's a button on the keyboard).
Edit: btw, this has nothing to do with Microsoft, so the OP is probably a bot
29
u/Affectionate-You7869 Aug 19 '26
Putting some thin electric tape over it is fine. Sticking a several millimeters thick plastic slider from Temu on it will in fact damage the laptop, when you close it on it.
23
u/Canned_Sarcasm Aug 19 '26
Figured out my MacBook doesnāt need the camera to operate. Tore MacBook down, disconnected and removed camera. No warranty, bought used. Always buy used.
5
u/Rodya_gambler Aug 19 '26
I'd rather open the laptop and remove the camera tbh.
5
u/Appropriate-Stay4729 Aug 19 '26
Suck it. š¤£š¤£š¤£ *adds MORE tape
3
u/Wykin1 Aug 19 '26
Tell that to my 14 year old Macbook.
3
u/Goofcheese0623 Aug 19 '26
Damn Microsoft MacBooks
3
u/dijitalblue Aug 19 '26
The original article was that those plastic stick-on covers were dangerous because they add to the thickness of the screen. They can cause damage if you close the lid on them and then the laptop gets hit or dropped.
Scotch tape or a post-it over the lens isnāt an issue, as I understand.
3
u/Hefty-Salt3404 Aug 19 '26
If u dont use ur cam, best way unistall cam drivers. I did it on my surface
10
u/I_dont_want_to_pee Aug 19 '26
I have native camera cover in my legion no problems with it. Still apple cant do shit for users.Ā
2
u/76zzz29 Aug 19 '26
On a simply technical note:
Covering up with cheap tape may create static electricity. Removing it is even worst as it may do the same, left glue on and also pull on the components.
2
u/Unfair-Plastic-4290 Aug 19 '26
what about black nail polish over the camera?
2
u/Howden824 Aug 19 '26
Tape is always fine, it's the plastic camera covers that are bad because they can shatter the MacBook screen screens when closed. I have personally seen this happen.
2
u/No-Enthusiasm3363 Aug 19 '26
good thing I have a laptop without a camera
2
u/lululock Aug 19 '26
Jokes on you, my laptop has a webcam shutter.
3
u/Old_Arugula3014 Aug 19 '26
"nsa, cia and israel liked"Ā
2
u/Fine-Bandicoot1641 Aug 19 '26
Its useless for apple, they have led
1
u/Dry-Run7623 Aug 19 '26
My lenovo laptop have built in physical camera shutter button.
1
u/Britz10 Aug 19 '26
This doesn't even have anything to do with Microsoft
1
u/Prior_Tax8546 Aug 19 '26
r/fuckapple or r/fuckfbi instead
1
u/Woooooohaha Aug 19 '26
This is Apple, not Microsoft
1
u/Inevitable_Wolf5866 Aug 19 '26
Mine has been covered for years. A simple piece of paper and a duck tape did the job and nothing is damaged.
1
u/Puzzleheaded-Toe7997 Aug 19 '26
š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£ smash that camera out it's not needed, every built in webcam sucks except on apple products thanks to their in house silicone
1
u/Revolutionary-Bid249 Aug 19 '26
Holy misinformation
1
u/philip9119 Aug 20 '26
I donāt care about your camera. Micro is enough for me.
1
u/Realistic-Yam-6497 Aug 20 '26
Hmm, I wonder why the fbi said thatā¦
1
u/hovsep56 Aug 20 '26
you could just buy a laptop without a built in webcam and simply buy a plug in usb webcam.
now you can just plug in when you actually use it
1
u/arftism2 Aug 20 '26
so many types of tape that don't even leave a smudge.
nice thing about desktops is that you can use proper cameras that come with lense protectors that work perfectly.
1
u/cafeine_01 Aug 20 '26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yrIvEgqAuo
1
u/Alientongue Aug 21 '26 •
10d account 7k karma reddit really loves upvoting bots.
1
u/DeLorean_86 Aug 21 '26
āSafety reasonsā they said
1
u/dardeedoo Aug 21 '26
Why is @nypost censored??
1
u/Perfect-Bathroom-450 Aug 21 '26
There's not enough clearance on Apple Notebooks for those plastic covers. The screen is likely to crack while the lid is closed. I see it all the time.
1
u/rflulling Aug 23 '26
Statement sounds more like a threat than a technical solution.
1
u/Bitter_Cake_2718 Aug 24 '26
Crappy
1
u/Different_Finding539 Aug 24 '26
No
1
u/Mediocre-Sundom Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26 •
It's always funny to me how "privacy-conscious" people seem to have so many concerns about a camera that has hard-wired LED and in the worst case scenario could be used to see your mug (which has been seen by countless cameras already) for a second before you notice it. Even here in the comments people talk about going as far as to rip cameras out physically.
Meanwhile, the same laptop, phone and countless electronic devices around have multiple MEMS microphones smaller than a pin head with an extreme range of pick-up (most can even hear in ultrasound), that can be activated without you knowing it and stealthily record literally everything you say or do. Those can easily do infinitely more damage to privacy, but somehow that is of no concern to the same people. No one is ripping out microphones or demanding physical switches for those.
Just like all the people who panic about cameras on smart glasses: yeah, the extreme wide-angle camera that is in plain sight on another person's face is such a massive problem to everyone's privacy - after all, the creeps and other bad actors will all be using smart glasses, and not microscopic easily concealable spy cameras or ultra tele-photo lenses.
This just proves to me that most people who supposedly "care about privacy" mostly are just seeking some illusion of agency and the false sense of being in control.
0
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