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Comment by hulitu | Hacker News Reader

> A deliberately stretched example. Apple laptops are claimed to not need camera privacy shutter, because the recording light is hardware controlled,

Hardware controlled is either a physycal switch or a hardware circuitry linked to the start of streaming from the camera which is difficult to implement (you need to decode the stream in hw).

So i really think that Apple is lying here.

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Hardware controlled could just as well be a LED which turns on when the entire (or relevant part of) camera module is powered on. Power-saving wise it would also make sense to have the whole thing on always.

Something that is fabulously easy and cheap to implement and would cause massive backlash if found to be otherwise? It would almost be more effort to not do it the authentic way.

> or a hardware circuitry linked to the start of streaming from the camera which is difficult to implement (you need to decode the stream in hw).

Why would you need to decode the stream in hw? Simply attach an LED to power-good signal of signal buffer and you are good to go. As long as the data stream is open, the LED is on. It's not even intern level, it's student level circuitry.

I still don't understand how the recording light negates the need for a privacy shutter. I don't care if i know when the camera is on, as the camera could be turned on without my consent or just before I'm ready.

Why not just connect the LED to the same rail that powers the camera?

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