Is your smart device camera spying on you?

Observer

20-05-2025

About 25 years ago, cameras were introduced on mobile phones. At first, it was scary, and I vividly remember when many people thought it would not be successful and they would most probably be banned in many countries too. Today, this is a normal affair, and in fact, every smart mobile phone comes with a camera embedded onto them by default. Not just one; in fact, two or more on the front and on the back of the phone. What more? Almost every computer desktop, tablet and laptop at home or in the office has them too. Many TVs at homes have them, and soon you will be wearing smart glasses that have cameras embedded in them. Though this has become a norm at home, work and in schools as well, the initial worry about the use and intrusion of a camera continues. The question is, can the camera on these gadgets spy on you? Let me try and shed some light for your kind perusal via my article today.
According to a report published in 2023 by one of the reputed cybersecurity institutions (Norton Cyber Safety Insights), nearly 1 in 3 people worldwide are concerned that their smartphone cameras are being used to spy on them. Another study released by CyberNews analysed that over 30 Android camera applications were found to be suspicious, in which they were found sending user data to unknown servers and/or requesting excessive permissions from their users. Finally, it has been reported that over hundreds of apps were removed from the Google Play Store between 2019 and 2023 due to privacy violations, many of which were due to unauthorised access to cameras. Yikes, numbers don't lie, especially when they are reported from the heavyweight international industry cyber security players.
What can one learn from these reports? That yes, and clearly that the embedded cameras on these smart gadgets can spy on you. Nevertheless, it's not as common as one would think. Let me explain why and how. One can technically access smart gadgets' cameras (phone, tablet, laptop and TV) remotely through apps that are either buggy or have allowed permission to do so. By default, the heavyweights, Apple, Google and Huawei, do not allow third-party apps to access unless the user allows them to do so, and hence the removal of the hundreds of apps from the Play Store as mentioned earlier.
So what can you do? The short answer is to remove access to the apps, always update the devices in question, block the apps if need be, or even better, just cover the cameras altogether (and only uncover them when required to use them). To remove access for Apple iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, etc.), go to 'Settings', scroll to the 'Privacy' section and select 'Camera'. For Android devices (including TVs), go to 'Settings', then scroll down to 'App', click on 'App Permissions', and you will finally find the 'Camera'. Turn off camera access for apps that don't really need it. I promise you will find plenty as I did already. For example, your camera app would need it, but I don't see a reason why the notes or even calculator app would need it. I am sure you got the idea.
Lastly, ensure you always update the software of your smart device (be it the individual app or the operating system entirely). The regular updates fix bugs and patch security holes. Do not ignore them, as you will be at the mercy of hackers and the like, mischief users.
To conclude my article this week, I would like to emphasise the importance of keeping oneself updated by reading and watching the news as well as following the weekly articles, for knowledge is power, and attaining it would keep you ahead of the game. Until we catch up again next week, stay safe and be vigilant.