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Comment by vilda | Hacker News Reader

I believe the simplest solution on Apple's side is to add a physical indicator of when the camera is on or off. It must not be software controlled, not even on system/FPGA level. Best if attached on power on/off. With a hysteresis so that even quick on/off will be noticed.

Edit to add: Here's what may happen if the indicator is software controlled: "iSeeYou: Disabling the MacBook Webcam Indicator LED" https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2...

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Apple's very first camera accessory, the iSight camera, had a physical iris that you could open and close for privacy:

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/50271a61c4aab6c54f9af5...

I thought that was beautiful UI, since you knew that the lens was being blocked; you didn't have to trust that the software/firmware was doing the right thing.

Old Treos (and maybe Palm Pilots) had a similar switch to sound, which was great. You could turn it off and be completely sure that no software error can cause any sound whatsoever.

I had some Asus laptop which had a switch to physically close webcam: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/images2500x2500/ASUS_N73S...

If you're paranoid, it could be transparent for IR or something though.

The problem is, how do I the consumer know that its not software controlled? I have to trust Apple or whoever that its not.

If you use Apple hardware, then you trust them on many other levels. As for this particular feature, some hobbies or profs (like fixit) may have a good chance to disassemble it and check.

The internet is full of people who will take it all apart and test the crap out of it!

It would be quite a claim and people really do love to put apple products to the test. see: bendgate.

Indeed. I had a ThinkPad with a physical switch to turn wifi on and off. The OS got into a weird state one day (a driver or OS bug) and I was shocked to discover that wifi was working even though the switch was in the off position.

So even on a ThinkPad, these physical switches are fake, i.e., they are just software settings checked by the OS, and not a hardware override.

Which is why I was glad Lenovo made it possible for me to order my current laptop without a webcam at all. I can just plug one in if I need it.

Or a lid that can be slided over it. As a bonus, it would also protect the camera from being scratched

I'm not convinced Apple design department will allow that.

If you enable camera for a fraction of second nobody would notice the change of indicator.

You can have the hardware display for a minimum of 3 seconds.

Even that wouldn't be enough. And for some environments (e.g. living room) you would need super bright indicator accompanied by sound.

Is there any evidence of this being possible on Macs made after 2008?

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