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I'm not aware of a "webcam on" LED on most laptop webcams - as far as I know, a webcam is just a sensor that picks up light. Some smartphones have an LED for fl

I'm not aware of a "webcam on" LED on most laptop webcams - as far as I know, a webcam is just a sensor that picks up light. Some smartphones have an LED for flash next to the webcam, but most don't. I've owned webcams that had no LEDs on them whatsoever, notably Logitech webcams from 2002. Did the article say something about an LED being disabled? If so, I missed it. I think the issue is that anti-theft software was intentionally activated, which turned the webcam on and streamed it to another location, where store employees indulged their voyeurism.

mikeash 14y ago
MacBooks all have a green LED next to the webcam which comes on when it's activated so you can tell if it's trying to spy on you. Lots of other laptops do as well, although I'm not sure how common it is outside the Mac world.
- lurkinggrue 14y ago
  And that was disable via software in a recent scandal with schools spying on kids: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9158818/Pennsylvania_schools_spying_on_students_using_laptop_webcams_claims_lawsuit http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9158818/Pennsylvania_... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_v._Lower_Merion_School_District http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_v._Lower_Merion_School_... On the laptops the LED was hardwired to camera power but the software go around it by momentary activating the camera and taking pictures. You would only get a rather slight flicker occasionally.
Bjartr 14y ago
Many laptops with webcams built into them have an LED too