5 ms·

Ask HN: Why does my camera turn on briefly when accessing google.com?

14 points by devtailz 5y ago

rolph 5y ago
authentication and tracking of the device
- devtailz 5y ago
  In what way? Turning the camera shouldn't be needed for either of these? And even if they were that should be a permission they have to request.
  - rolph 5y ago
    the camera will have small defects and foriegn objects that we cant see but are very detectable, thus similar to a fingerprint. if you read the wall of legalese regarding permissions there is likely some language that is being interpreted as tacit permission. this is nothing new, the camera doesnt even need to be on long enough to generate an image just long enough to initialize and reveal its distinctiveness, and yes your right it shouldnt be needed by you, but it[camera] and other sensors are used by many apps and services
  - muzani 5y ago
    It could well be that it's not asking for camera permissions. It's just fingerprinting whatever hardware is connected, and one of them just happens to be the camera.
    - devtailz 5y ago
      Not that this is a reputable source, but https://fingerprintjs.com/blog/browser-fingerprinting-techniques/ https://fingerprintjs.com/blog/browser-fingerprinting-techni... suggests that fingerprinting a media device requires the site to have camera permissions. Which is also what I would expect. But perhaps I’m just too hopeful
devtailz 5y ago
My camera has a light that indicates when it is on. From what I can see no other websites trigger it to turn on (unless they obviously are using the camera). It appears to turn on briefly and then turn off again. This seems to break my understanding of the browser security model as that domain is definitely not allowed access to my camera. Any thoughts?
- jjgreen 5y ago
  Which browser?
  - devtailz 5y ago
    Chrome on Ubuntu. Doesn't happen in Firefox
    - jjgreen 5y ago
      Well, you're running the browser as your user, so having your user's permissions and you (I guess) have permission to access the camera. So there's no problem the browser accessing the camera. As to "browser security model", that's your model, not that of the browser which is closed-source software produced by a hostile corporation. The solution is kind-of obvious no?
brezelgoring 5y ago
Mine used to do that too, as well as the microphone and other peripherals. They are just being tested as the browser opens I think, not exactly while going to google.com I decided to move to FF where it didn't happen. Also Chrome asked for my root password to open up 2 keyrings (as it opened, every time) so that was a big no, why do you want root access? You're a browser.
giardini 5y ago
Put a piece of tape on the lens.

14 points by devtailz 5y ago

rolph 5y ago

authentication and tracking of the device

devtailz 5y ago
In what way? Turning the camera shouldn't be needed for either of these? And even if they were that should be a permission they have to request.
- rolph 5y ago
  the camera will have small defects and foriegn objects that we cant see but are very detectable, thus similar to a fingerprint. if you read the wall of legalese regarding permissions there is likely some language that is being interpreted as tacit permission. this is nothing new, the camera doesnt even need to be on long enough to generate an image just long enough to initialize and reveal its distinctiveness, and yes your right it shouldnt be needed by you, but it[camera] and other sensors are used by many apps and services
- muzani 5y ago
  It could well be that it's not asking for camera permissions. It's just fingerprinting whatever hardware is connected, and one of them just happens to be the camera.
  - devtailz 5y ago
    Not that this is a reputable source, but https://fingerprintjs.com/blog/browser-fingerprinting-techniques/ https://fingerprintjs.com/blog/browser-fingerprinting-techni... suggests that fingerprinting a media device requires the site to have camera permissions. Which is also what I would expect. But perhaps I’m just too hopeful

devtailz 5y ago

My camera has a light that indicates when it is on. From what I can see no other websites trigger it to turn on (unless they obviously are using the camera). It appears to turn on briefly and then turn off again. This seems to break my understanding of the browser security model as that domain is definitely not allowed access to my camera. Any thoughts?

jjgreen 5y ago
Which browser?
- devtailz 5y ago
  Chrome on Ubuntu. Doesn't happen in Firefox
  - jjgreen 5y ago
    Well, you're running the browser as your user, so having your user's permissions and you (I guess) have permission to access the camera. So there's no problem the browser accessing the camera. As to "browser security model", that's your model, not that of the browser which is closed-source software produced by a hostile corporation. The solution is kind-of obvious no?

brezelgoring 5y ago

Mine used to do that too, as well as the microphone and other peripherals. They are just being tested as the browser opens I think, not exactly while going to google.com I decided to move to FF where it didn't happen. Also Chrome asked for my root password to open up 2 keyrings (as it opened, every time) so that was a big no, why do you want root access? You're a browser.

giardini 5y ago

Put a piece of tape on the lens.