This is why I have a piece of tape over my webcam.
I really don’t need a webcam on my MacBook at all. Kinda like I don’t need a microphone on my TV. Why are these not optional on devices? How do we know this is really what consumers want?
It feels like a lesson from the “you can have any color as long as it’s black” school of consumer choice.
> ”I really don’t need a webcam ... Why are these not optional on devices?”
The webcam is cheap enough that the cost to make it optional (ie: added manufacturing and logistical complexity of another model variant) would greatly exceed the cost of the part.
Most people (except some high security military/intelligence customers, perhaps) aren’t willing to pay more to not have a webcam.
You’re right of course. I’m still uncomfortable with the number of cameras and microphones that found their way into my home. Especially for how rarely I use them. I don’t feel like my life is much better with them around.
I'm not sure about smartphones but it seems like a physical cover would be a perfect fit on a notebook. Maybe the reason it isn't done is that it gives bad vibes to people about being spied on without their knowledge?
Because according to the seller’s analysis, the probability of marginal profit is not sufficient.
>How do we know this is really what consumers want?
“We” don’t, and short of a worldwide poll, one can only guess. The seller, especially as one of the most profitable entities in the world, is presumed to be able to come up with decent market analysis.
You could whip up a quick script to move driver kexts for mic and camera in and out of extensions folder essentially toggling the functionality. This would require a reboot though.
I put an inline switch on the supply line of my thinkpad camera. The hardest part is mechanically placing the switch so it's not in the way and can be used easily.
It's actually getting worse. The 2020 macbook air has soldered secondary storage. In a day when NVME drives are as tiny as ever. So now if you want to upgrade from 256 GB to 1 TB you need to buy an entirely new board.
I'm not sure, but hasn't it been like this since... 2018 or so? I thought all after-market upgrade possibilites were gone, because they started soldering the RAM and everthing else. Didn't knew you could upgrade any storage at all.
I don’t have an easy (non-destructive) fix for that one and I actually do voice chats with my laptop. I’d feel better about a real hardware switch for both or a separate device. Sadly that doesn’t seem to be an option.
There's external microphones with an on/off switch; of course, if you can't tell Mac to never use the builtin microphone it's probably neither here nor there.
And what about all your data? (photos, emails, texts, browsing history, passwords, etc) If an attacker has compromised my computer to such an extent that they’s be able to record me, I’d be more worried about access to my private data than I am about being photographed through the webcam.
Well, as this case shows, an attacker doesn’t always need to get low level access to your device in order to capture video and audio. So there is still a valid concern shot being recorded.
FWIW thinkpads have a function key on the keyboard to mute the microphone. With indicator LED.
I don't know how it is implemented, may be in software, may be done in firmware. It won't be perfect but at least it gives you a visual indication that your mic is (or should be) muted.
I really don’t need a webcam on my MacBook at all. Kinda like I don’t need a microphone on my TV. Why are these not optional on devices? How do we know this is really what consumers want?
It feels like a lesson from the “you can have any color as long as it’s black” school of consumer choice.