How to Cover the Camera on a Phone: Quick Tips & Tricks (2024)

Written byRain Kengly

Last Updated: February 14, 2024Fact Checked

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   Use a piece of electrical tape to cover the camera for a simple option. Peel off a small piece of electrical tape and trim it to size using scissors. Put one small piece of tape over the front camera and a slightly bigger piece of tape over the back camera. This is more than enough to hide your lens from a hacker trying to get into your camera.

   • The downside of electrical tape is that it will leave a sticky residue behind when you peel it off of the phone. It also isn’t as attractive as other solutions.
   • The camera on the front is typically around 0.25 inches (0.64cm) in diameter. The camera on the back is a little bigger—usually around 0.5–1in (1.3–2.5cm) in diameter depending on your phone. Cut pieces to size accordingly based on your specific phone’s camera.
   • Standard translucent tape may cloud the image from your camera, but it won’t completely hide it.
   • You can use duct tape if you prefer, but the adhesive on duct tape is much stronger than electrical tape. You’ll have a bunch of gunk left on your phone if you ever decide to take it off.
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   Choose a sticker to add a fun design while covering the camera. A sticker will perform the same function as a piece of electrical tape without looking out of place. You can purchase a set of small stickers online or pick up a set of stickers from a craft store. You can also find small stickers to cover your phone in a children’s sticker book. Find 2 stickers that you like and put one on the front camera and one on the back.

   • Flowers, logos, symbols, and smiley faces will all give your phone a little personality while covering the camera.
   • So long as the sticker is big enough to cover the lens, the sticker will work. For the front camera, basically any sticker can cover it. For the camera on the back, you’ll need a sticker that is at least 1 by 1 inch (2.5 by 2.5cm), although it may need to be bigger depending on your specific phone.
   • Stickers will hold just as well as electrical tape, but they will also leave a residue behind if you ever take them off.

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   See Also

   How to know if someone is watching you through your phone cameraDo We Really Need To Cover Up Our Laptop Camera Lens For Privacy?How Do I Protect My Phone Camera from Scratches and Damage?Why Do People Cover Their Laptop Camera?

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   Get an adhesive camera cover for a more seamless option. These are basically thin adhesive strips that can be stuck on and peeled off of a phone camera without leaving any residue behind. Once you get your camera cover, peel the adhesive off of the back and stick it over your camera.

   • These camera covers usually come in sheets with different sizes of covers. Use whichever sizes will cover your lenses entirely.
   • You can get these camera covers in a solid color or with a small design on them.
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   Buy a slide cover that obscures the camera to hide it when you want. Camera slide covers are small tabs with one open side and a lid that slides over the opening. They’re designed for laptops, but they can work on phones as well. To install it, simply stick the open side over your lens. Then, whenever you want to cover the lens, move the small slide over the opening.

   • Unfortunately, this is not an ideal solution for the camera on the back of the phone. Combine this solution with an additional method to cover both lenses.
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   Use a case with a built-in slide cover to hide your camera when you want. Buy a protective case with a built-in slide cover online or at a phone accessory store. Insert your phone into your case and use the tab on the top or side of the case to hide your camera. These cases are a great option if you want a cleaner way to cover the camera.

   Tip: These cases are easy to find for iPhones. For Androids, these cases may be kind of difficult to find since the cameras are different for every case. For less popular Android models, there may not be slide cover cases for your phone.

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   Remove camera permissions in your phone to restrict camera access. Go into your phone’s Settings and select Applications. Then, find the tab where you give camera access to your applications. On many phones, this is the Permissions or Access tab. Set every application to Off under the camera setting to ensure that third party apps can't access your phone.

   • On iPhones, go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera → toggle off all applications.^[1]
   • This will only prevent applications on your phone from accessing your camera without your permission. Hackers may still be able to break in, but most hackers use malicious applications to get into the camera to begin with, so this is a good way to limit access.

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