Editing Webcam (section)

== Privacy concerns ==
[[File:Tape over laptop webcam.jpg|alt=see caption|thumb|Tape over the built-in laptop webcam to block spies from viewing activities]]
Many users do not wish the continuous exposure for which webcams were originally intended, but rather prefer privacy.<ref>{{cite web |date=13 November 2012 |title=Jogador esquece webcam ligada e transmite sexo com namorada |url=http://br.noticias.yahoo.com/jogador-esquece-webcam-ligada-transmite-sexo-namorada.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126181746/https://br.noticias.yahoo.com/jogador-esquece-webcam-ligada-transmite-sexo-namorada.html |archive-date=26 November 2015 |access-date=29 July 2015 |work=Yahoo Notícias}}</ref> Such privacy is lost when [[malware]] allow [[Hacker (computer security)|malicious hackers]] to activate the webcam without the user's knowledge, providing the hackers with a live video and audio feed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gray |first=Leon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B2utHHdYJOcC&q=ivacy+is+lost+when+Trojan+horse+programs+allow+malicious+hackers+to+activate+the+webcam+&pg=PA5 |title=Virtual crime! : solving cybercrime |publisher=Enslow Publishers |year=2009 |isbn=978-0766033764 |location=Berkeley Heights, NJ |access-date=2020-10-11 |archive-date=2021-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724230054/https://books.google.com/books?id=B2utHHdYJOcC&q=ivacy+is+lost+when+Trojan+horse+programs+allow+malicious+hackers+to+activate+the+webcam+&pg=PA5 |url-status=live }}</ref> This is a particular concern on many laptop computers, as such cameras normally cannot be physically disabled if hijacked by such a [[Trojan horse (computing)|Trojan Horse]] program or other similar [[spyware]] programs.

Cameras such as [[Apple Computer|Apple]]'s older external [[iSight]] cameras include lens covers to thwart this. Some webcams have built-in hardwired [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] indicators that light up whenever the camera is active, sometimes only in video mode.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Yadron |first=Danny |date=2016-06-06 |title=Why is everyone covering up their laptop cameras? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/06/surveillance-camera-laptop-smartphone-cover-tape |access-date=2016-06-13 |website=the Guardian |archive-date=2019-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413165025/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/06/surveillance-camera-laptop-smartphone-cover-tape |url-status=live }}</ref> However, it is possible, depending on the circuit design of a webcam, for [[malware]] to circumvent the indicator and activate the camera surreptitiously, as researchers demonstrated in the case of a [[MacBook]]'s built-in camera in 2013.<ref name=":0" />

Various companies sell sliding lens covers and stickers that allow users to retrofit a computer or smartphone to close access to the camera lens as needed.<ref name=":0" /> One such company reported having sold more than 250,000 such items from 2013 to 2016.<ref name=":0" /> However, any opaque material will work just as well.<ref name=":0" />

The process of attempting to hack into a person's webcam and activate it without the webcam owner's permission has been called [[camfecting]], a [[portmanteau]] of ''cam'' and ''infecting''. The remotely activated webcam can be used to watch anything within the webcam's field of vision. Camfecting is most often carried out by infecting the victim's computer with a [[computer virus]].