Webcam paranoia? This $9 pack of covers will provide all the privacy you want
Does the black abyss of your webcam, and its potential for cyber-surveillance, make your hair stand on end? No one likes the feeling of being watched, especially after hearing horror stories of hackers harassing people through that eye on the top of their screen. Fair enough, but put away that electrical tape! There's a better way: this pack of webcam covers that you just stick on your device. They'll assure your privacy without leaving gummy adhesive residue on your expensive laptop screen.
There's another benefit to using a webcam cover: It protects against dirt and dust. Let's face it — we all need our webcams for the myriad Skype and Zoom calls we take for work, but we don't always want it facing us. These covers are an easy, damage-free solution to your privacy concerns. They fit on most every model of laptop, but this set includes a half dozen small ones that can be used to cover the cam on your phone or tablet.
It really is press-and-play; just remove the backing of the cover and press it firmly against the screen for about 15 seconds and you're good to go. Let me guess: You're wondering whether it will get in the way of closing your laptop. The answer? Nope! At 0.027 inches thick (that's about five pieces of paper put together), it's barely there.
"Now my FBI agent can only hear me," one user quipped. "It blocks the camera to keep those pesky hackers, both civilian and government, from looking at me. It has saved me from answering future questions of someone wondering why I hung that picture up where I did.... All Phillip (my assigned agent's name, I presume) can do is suffer and only hear my voice. Oh, and look at my desktop. But he won’t be able to see me, and that’s all that truly matters!"
All joking aside, these really are great for privacy. Another user called these "tiny must-haves." "Its been an online school year and a remote job year during the pandemic. These camera covers that allow you to slide them open to use the camera or close it has been a great convenience! Arrived quickly and used them on my laptops and my kids laptops."
These could also be used on smart-home devices! All the convenience of Alexa or Google Assistant without the ability to see what you're cooking for dinner.
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
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