Apple has issued a support page that suggests MacBook owners not to close their laptop with a camera cover in place.
Damage like a broken display could result, according to the company, because “the clearance between the display and keyboard is designed to very close tolerances.” MacRumors recognized the advisory, which Apple posted on July 2nd.
Those little plastic camera covers with a sliding mechanism are super familiar nowadays. But they could spell trouble for your laptop screen if you closed the laptop with the cover yet on, and Apple’s laptop replacements are incredibly costly. Even with AppleCare+ accidental coverage, the deductible isn’t cheap.
Instead of using a cover, Apple states that customers can trust the green LED beside the camera on a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air that illuminates whenever the camera is active.
“The camera is engineered so that it can’t activate without the camera indicator light also turning on,” Apple support document states. That’s all fine and good, but sometimes it’s not so much about privacy as it is just having that layer of cut between you and your co-workers on a video conference; I never like popping up on camera surprisingly during that first cup of coffee in the morning.
Apple does admit that some people have no option in the subject and might be required to use a camera cover by their employer. In those cases, the company states the cover should always be removed before closing the laptop.
As MacRumors notes, there have been cases of a MacBook Pro’s screen breaking even when lightweight is applied to a closed machine with a connected camera cover.
A strip of tape should be a more reliable option than a hard plastic stick-on cover if you don’t wholly trust the light. Still, Apple advises against using anything “thicker than an average piece of printer paper (0.1mm),” and also inhibits camera covers that leave adhesive residue.
You can regularly check which apps have a way to your camera by going to system decisions and choosing security and privacy. In the camera section there, you can revoke camera permissions for any app.
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