Apple warns MacBook users that covering camera can break your display
Are you guilty of this?
Apple has confirmed that attempting privacy by covering up your camera could actually damage your laptop.
Covering the camera on our laptops is not a new phenomenon for many of us, but perhaps you should think twice before you pop that sticky note over the camera of your Apple laptop.
There's actually a great design feature built into the Mac that lets you know if your camera is active or not, and it’s a small green light that appears next to your camera when it’s on.
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According to the folks that make them, sticking a piece of paper or a Post-It note over the camera obstructs the carefully designed closing point of the device, meaning that the screen could shatter when closed.
This advice is for anyone who owns a MacBook, a MacBook Air, or a MacBook Pro. If you've ever owned, or looked at owning one of them, you'll know that you really don't want to mess anything up with them.
Apple's official website states: "If you close your Mac notebook with a camera cover installed, you might damage your display because the clearance between the display and keyboard is designed to very tight tolerances."
Also, Apple claims that the green light is conclusive enough, as it simply tells you when the computer is active - if the light ain't on, the camera is not active.
Therefore, sticking something across it is overkill, and potentially dangerous to the screen.
Oh, and that's not all. There are other features that could be affected by covering up the front camera.
Covering the camera could affect the machine's ambient light sensor, as well as the auto-brightness settings, and the Apple retina display True Tone technology, apparently.
However, the company did address the fact that a lot of people have to cover their screens if they work in an 'environment [that] requires a camera cover at all times'.
In these circumstances, Apple recommends you use something that isn't sticky, and won't leave an adhesive residue.
It's also important to use something that is really thin, and remember to take it off before you close the screen, as that's where the danger is.
According to website MacRumors, users have reported complaints regarding this issue, including one person who actually broke their internal display.
It's not cheap to get such issues fixed, but it is covered by AppleCare+ Insurance.