In this article, we will see how to turn off or Disable Camera on MAC. You can disable the FaceTime camera on your Mac for security reasons.
Disable Camera on MAC:
One can physically disconnect the built-in camera on MacBook. Mac camera uses the same bus as it connects the motherboard with the screen of Mac.
If you disconnect the MAC camera, it will result in turning off the camera and MacBook screen.
To physically disable the camera on MAC, you need to cover it with a sticker or duct tape. The other way is to use the software-based solution to disable the camera.
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Prevent Apps from using the camera on MAC:
If someone is using the camera on your Mac through applications, you can prevent it on Mac.
Step 1:
On the top menu bar, you need to click on the Apple logo. Select the option “System Preferences” from the drop-down menu.
Step 2:
Choose the “Security & Privacy” tab that you find on the System Preferences screen.
Step 3:
On the new screen, you need to click on the Camera option in the left pane. Uncheck the applications that you see on the right pane. Such apps have access to the Camera on your Mac.
This will prevent the apps from getting access to the built-in camera on MacBook.
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Prevent Websites from accessing the camera on MAC:
Based on the Safari settings, the sites that you visit for browsing may get access to the camera. Here are the steps to disable camera access for websites.
Step 1:
Go to the Safari browser on the MacBook.
Step 2:
On the next screen, choose the Safari tab that you find on the top menu bar. Select the “Preferences” option in the drop-down menu.
Step 3:
You will get a new screen with many tabs. From many tabs, choose the Websites tab and select the Camera option in the left pane. On the right-pane, you will get the apps accessing the camera. You will get such apps under “Allow Websites to access the camera”.
Select the needed option like Deny or Ask. On the bottom, you will find the “When visiting other websites” option. You need to choose the “deny” option to prevent the websites from accessing the camera. If you choose the “ask” option, it will allow the websites to get access to the camera.
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Disable Camera on MAC using Parental Controls:
Using the parental controls to turn off the Mac camera is the easiest way amongst others. It will allow you to turn off the Mac camera for some user accounts. The camera works well for other user accounts too.
Step 1:
Go to the System Preferences on the Mac. From many options, you need to click on Parental Controls.
Step 2:
On the new screen, you need to click on the “Enable Parental Controls” button. To get access to these settings, click on the lock icon, and provide your admin password.
Step 3:
On the next screen, choose the user account in the left pane. On the right-pane, choose the “Apps” tab where you will get some new options. You need to uncheck the “Allow Use of Camera” option.
The above method will prevent the applications to access the built-in camera and plugin Webcam on MacBook.
Why some users disable on Mac?
On MacBook, the other name of the built-in camera is the FaceTime Camera. Some people use the name as iSight Camera too.
Such a camera on MacBook allows you to do FaceTime calls to your friends and family members. It allows you to conduct important business meetings through the Skype app.
Some users want to disable the Mac camera. They want it to prevent the malware from accessing the videos of the Macbook. The malware can’t record any video sessions.
Some of the popular Mac Malware programs include
- OSX/FruitFly
- OSX/Crisis
- OSX/Mokes
All the above programs are popular in spying Mac users. Some people thinking about privacy will make use of third-party apps. Such third-party apps are not good to block the camera access to applications or websites.
The Bottom Line:
The above methods may help you to disable the Camera on Mac. You can avoid apps or websites to get access to the Mac Camera.
Read Also-: How to switch from Windows to Mac OS X ?