Check Your Camera & Microphone Permissions
It seems difficult to buy a new device that doesn’t come with both a camera and a microphone. Everything from laptops to smartphones comes with this tech built in. At this point, we expect our devices to offer this functionality, but it’s easy to forget that not all apps should have permission to access these critical tools. For the most
It seems difficult to buy a new device that doesn’t come with both a camera and a microphone. Everything from laptops to smartphones comes with this tech built in. At this point, we expect our devices to offer this functionality, but it’s easy to forget that not all apps should have permission to access these critical tools.
For the most part, built-in cameras and microphones are great—especially for work and general communications. However, while you certainly want Zoom to have access to your laptop’s camera and microphone, you probably don’t want every program to be able to access your camera and microphone. That goes for your smartphone, as well: You don’t want every app on your phone being able to check in on your camera and mic whenever they want to.
These apps want access to your camera and microphone: In fact, they want access to as much data as possible. The never-ending goal of cybersecurity is to limit that data exposure as much as you can. You can start by making sure only the apps you want to access your device’s camera and microphone can do so.
On Windows, you’ll find the apps that have permission to access your camera or microphone in Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Camera or Microphone. On a Mac, you’ll find these apps in System Settings (or System Preferences) > Security & Privacy > Camera or Microphone. From either, manage which apps have access to these permissions.
While this process is slightly different between iPhone and Android, the end result is exactly the same. On iPhone, open Settings, then scroll down and tap “Privacy & Security.” From here, tap either “Microphone” or “Camera,” and you’ll see a complete list of apps that have access to either. If you want to block an app from accessing your camera or microphone, just tap the green toggle next to the app.
On Android, you can open Settings, tap “Privacy,” then “Permission manager.” Now, choose Camera or Microphone to see a complete list of apps with permissions. You can tap on each app, then tap “Deny” to remove permissions.
Photo by Angela Compagnone on Unsplash
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