Why do most of the people tape the cameras on their laptops?
Because you could accidentally turn on the camera.
Because somebody often calls via video, but you don't want to be seen.
Because you can be hacked.
It also happens that a customer service asks you to allow something so that he can help, and suddenly he has activated the camera. At least for some time there were warnings on the subject.
I don't mask them, but I do do many of my friends and acquaintances.
Yes, the data is also much more important to me than whether someone could see how I eat or somethingā¦ As if my life were so exciting for others š
Under certain circumstances, the camera can be used to take a picture without the user's knowledge. This can be a "hacker", but also an employer who likes to see what his employees are doing.
This and that is not legal, but the possibilities exist and even if it is rather unlikely, this camera is often masked. This is primarily found on desktop devices, but basically any device that uses at least one camera can be affected.
So not only webcams are affected, but also smartphones, tablets and everything that has a camera these days. In principle, this can also be the refrigerator, the vacuum robot, the oven, smart home devices such as Alexa and many more.
What is this good for?
There are some purposes why you can misuse a camera, including blackmail (recordings while masturbating that find their way to the Internet if the sum X is not paid, etc.), but manufacturers can also benefit from this if they are able to their customers to study specifically.
You have probably already noticed that e.g. Google every now and then "strangely" provides suggestions about things during a Google search, about which, for example, you have talked to friends. This is not a coincidence but is simply due to the fact that the device "listens" - let's cautiously call it "comfort".
Pretty much every good technique always has its disadvantages. As convenient as smart devices can be, the devices also serve as "bugs" that can record the life of the user fairly accurately.
So why tape up cameras?
To counteract the surveillance.
I have to watch that with Google.
I'm not ticking smart answer here because I'm simply giving my opinion.
I can't tell if the NSA is monitoring everything, but the fact is that cameras can be hacked.
For this reason I also take my webcam down and put it in such a way that it can't see anything as long as I don't need it.
If it is that easy to be on the safe side, then you should do it.
There's a not unfounded fear that someone will turn on the camera and watch youā¦
I think it's funny, by the way, that since I don't know how many years it has been the trend to mask the camera, but no manufacturer has yet come up with the funnel, attaching a mechanical visor or something to the device itself so that you can slide it.
I could only think of three plausible reasons for this:
costs: each additional part costs money! But in view of the prices for the devices, that should play a subordinate role. Well, you have to counter that, of course, that it is not something you can advertise with, such as a light weight, large display or a bitten apple on the back of the display.
space and weight. The things have to get lighter and thinner, because it is difficult to accommodate additional parts.
the manufacturers don't want that at all because they hope that the users will reveal as much as possible about themselves. Who, how what and with whom? I leave this speculation to those who wear aluminum hats.
It's pretty ridiculousā¦
The thought is already interesting: As if they would find something exciting with a normal person in everyday life.
Well, maybe things that they could blackmail you with, be honestā¦ How would you think that they could ALWAYS see EVERYTHING and make it public if necessary?
Well, in the office I just sit at the table, nothing exciting happens. If my hair wasn't combed, nobody could blackmail me and I wouldn't care if it were online somewhere. Besides, I tend not to think that this will happen.
Yes, well, officeā¦ It's about private home.
Would be nice if you would tell me what exactly is supposed to be ridiculous about it.
Yes, at home. I call it the office where my PC is. It doesn't matter whether I gamble or do something else.
It doesn't have to be an additional flap if you simply use an on / off function. Otherwise I find that very paranoid.
In fact, my device has such a sliderāŗļø
