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a webcam cover can damage your MacBook

Apple explains in a support page that it is better to avoid using excessively thick webcam covers on MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro at the risk of breaking the computer screen by closing it.


Apple MacBook Air 2020 // Source: Frandroid

Obstructing the view of your laptop’s webcam by hiding it is a common practice. The idea is to be able to preserve your privacy even if the camera is hacked. However, Apple has posted a support page on his site to advise customers not to do this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=638058

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« Do not close your MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with a cover on the camera ” The title of the document is fairly self-explanatory. Rather than the thin piece of adhesive that some stick on top of their screen, Apple warns against plastic camcovers – with a slider to clear the field of vision when necessary – which are relatively thick.

So, ” if you close your Mac laptop with a webcam cover, you may damage your screen “Writes Apple. The design of MacBook has in fact been thought so that there is only very little space between the panel and the keyboard when the device is folded.

Apple tips for your webcam

As an alternative, Apple instead invites users to trust the green light next to the webcam. When it turns on, then it means that the camera is activated. The apple also points out that it is possible to configure which software can access or not the webcam.


LED verte MacBook

Apple invites you to trust the little green light to know if the webcam is activated // Source: Apple

However, Apple also does not forget that some employers require their employees to cover the webcam of their laptops. In this regard, the Cupertino company lists some recommendations:

  • make sure the webcam cover is not thicker than an average sheet of printer paper (0.1mm)
  • avoid using a cover that leaves adhesive residue
  • if you install a cover thicker than 0.1 mm, remove the cover before closing your computer

This Apple notice was published in early July, but was only recently noticed by MacRumors.

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