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Yes, https://youtu.be/jTm4fjx_eZ0?t=532 https://youtu.be/jTm4fjx_eZ0?t=532 this is done with React Native. I don't think nothing prevents you from rendering the

Yes, https://youtu.be/jTm4fjx_eZ0?t=532 https://youtu.be/jTm4fjx_eZ0?t=532 this is done with React Native. I don't think nothing prevents you from rendering the camera UI preview component with an opacity of 0.0 I guess the main problem that no smartphone manufacturer wants to address is: People who take photos without permission to other people. It would be reasonable to enforce a law on all manufactures to add visible LED when the phone camera is being used, in my opinion at least.

kgwxd 8y ago
That'd be good for personal privacy from malicious software but it would be easily defeatable by anyone that wants to use the camera unnoticed.
GhostVII 8y ago
I don't think that would be reasonable. Unless there is a significant safety issue or privacy issue that would be solved, I don't think the government should force manufacturers to add features to their phones, seems like a pretty extreme overreach. Any LED added could easily be removed or covered up in a few seconds, so I don't see how it changes anything.
- nitrogen 8y ago
  The ability to defeat a safety or privacy measure doesn't mean it shouldn't be implemented. People sometimes buckle their seatbelts behind them instead of wearing them, but seatbelts are still mandatory in most places. There are many different instances where someone would want an indicator for a camera and would not block the LED: detecting apps that take pictures without being asked, knowing whether the person across the street is taking a photo or a selfie so you don't accidentally photo bomb, random people taking photos who didn't block the LED (of all the camcorders with LEDs back in the day, how many actually had the LED covered?), etc.
  - GhostVII 8y ago
    The difference between this and seatbelts is that with the LED, you are trying to prevent someone from maliciously using the camera, while with seatbelts you are trying to give everyone the ability to be safe should they choose to do so. And regardless, the ability to defeat it should be a factor in determining whether or not it is worth regulating, even if it isn't the sole factor. The combination of having the LED both easy to defeat, and having very limited usefulness, make it not worth regulating.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
natch 8y ago
Um no, the whole point of that code is to show a preview on the screen. The comment you replied to is asking about the opposite, whether it's possible to hide the fact that the camera is being used.
- mariopt 8y ago
  You're right, I'll find another example and update the answer. I believe this is possible, in React Native you can access the camera and programmatically set the preview component size. As far as I know, there is nothing preventing you from using the camera to a preview component that is not visible on the screen. If Whatapps can do this: https://cdn.howtoisolve.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/12/How-to-Scan-QR-code-for-Web-Whatsapp-with-iPhone-7-Plus.jpg https://cdn.howtoisolve.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/12/How-... It means you can control the camera preview UI component.
  - ymolodtsov 8y ago
    You need to ask user’s permission for camera first anyway.
    - mariopt 8y ago
      For the first time yes but then the app can access the camera anytime without asking permission.
mvid 8y ago
Seems like the kind of solution that can be defeated with a couple cents of black nail polish
cyphar 8y ago
> People who take photos without permission to other people. That isn't really what people are worried about here. The issue is when a rogue app decides to start recording video of you without you knowing -- having a camera indicator LED which is in series with the camera's VCC (like almost all laptops have these days) would solve that problem. There are is a discussion we could have about whether taking a photo of someone in a public setting is something without permission is ethical (and whether the benefit of helping people in private situations would offset the downside of making it harder to discretely record evidence of wrong-doing). But that's not really what this discussion of having an indicator light is about.

kgwxd 8y ago

That'd be good for personal privacy from malicious software but it would be easily defeatable by anyone that wants to use the camera unnoticed.

GhostVII 8y ago

I don't think that would be reasonable. Unless there is a significant safety issue or privacy issue that would be solved, I don't think the government should force manufacturers to add features to their phones, seems like a pretty extreme overreach. Any LED added could easily be removed or covered up in a few seconds, so I don't see how it changes anything.

nitrogen 8y ago
The ability to defeat a safety or privacy measure doesn't mean it shouldn't be implemented. People sometimes buckle their seatbelts behind them instead of wearing them, but seatbelts are still mandatory in most places. There are many different instances where someone would want an indicator for a camera and would not block the LED: detecting apps that take pictures without being asked, knowing whether the person across the street is taking a photo or a selfie so you don't accidentally photo bomb, random people taking photos who didn't block the LED (of all the camcorders with LEDs back in the day, how many actually had the LED covered?), etc.
- GhostVII 8y ago
  The difference between this and seatbelts is that with the LED, you are trying to prevent someone from maliciously using the camera, while with seatbelts you are trying to give everyone the ability to be safe should they choose to do so. And regardless, the ability to defeat it should be a factor in determining whether or not it is worth regulating, even if it isn't the sole factor. The combination of having the LED both easy to defeat, and having very limited usefulness, make it not worth regulating.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

natch 8y ago

Um no, the whole point of that code is to show a preview on the screen. The comment you replied to is asking about the opposite, whether it's possible to hide the fact that the camera is being used.

mariopt 8y ago
You're right, I'll find another example and update the answer. I believe this is possible, in React Native you can access the camera and programmatically set the preview component size. As far as I know, there is nothing preventing you from using the camera to a preview component that is not visible on the screen. If Whatapps can do this: https://cdn.howtoisolve.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/12/How-to-Scan-QR-code-for-Web-Whatsapp-with-iPhone-7-Plus.jpg https://cdn.howtoisolve.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/12/How-... It means you can control the camera preview UI component.
- ymolodtsov 8y ago
  You need to ask user’s permission for camera first anyway.
  - mariopt 8y ago
    For the first time yes but then the app can access the camera anytime without asking permission.

mvid 8y ago

Seems like the kind of solution that can be defeated with a couple cents of black nail polish

cyphar 8y ago

> People who take photos without permission to other people. That isn't really what people are worried about here. The issue is when a rogue app decides to start recording video of you without you knowing -- having a camera indicator LED which is in series with the camera's VCC (like almost all laptops have these days) would solve that problem. There are is a discussion we could have about whether taking a photo of someone in a public setting is something without permission is ethical (and whether the benefit of helping people in private situations would offset the downside of making it harder to discretely record evidence of wrong-doing). But that's not really what this discussion of having an indicator light is about.