There are a lot of iPhone apps that can access your camera. Here are a few tips to help you see which ones are using your camera.
- Open the Camera app and look for the “Photos” tab. This will list all of the apps that have access to take photos or videos with your camera.
- Scroll down and look for the “Photos” app by itself, and then look for the “Camera” tab. This will list all of the apps that have access to take photos or videos with your camera, as well as any other apps that may be associated with it.
- If an app is listed in both tabs, it is likely that it is using your camera in some way.
Few iPhone privacy issues make people as nervous as whether an app is using your camera or not. Luckily, thanks to Apple’s Privacy settings, it’s easy to know which apps have access to your iPhone’s built-in camera. Here’s how to check—and how to revoke access if necessary.
First, open “Settings” on your iPhone by tapping the gear icon.
In “Settings,” tap “Privacy.”
In “Privacy,” tap “Camera.”
After that, you’ll see a list of apps that have asked you for camera access in the past. Apps that currently have access to your iPhone camera will have a green “on” switch beside them. Apps that do not have access have a grey “off” switch beside them.
(Also, apps that are not listed here do not have camera access, either.)
If you’d like to take away iPhone camera access from an app, tap the switch beside it in the list to turn it off. Likewise, you can also grant camera access to a listed app by turning the switch on.
After that, exit “Settings,” and your changes will already be in effect.
If you’re running iOS 14 and up, you can easily tell when an app is using your iPhone’s built-in camera. Simply look in the upper-right corner of your screen at the status bar: If you see a green dot there, then an app is using the camera. (If there’s an orange dot, that means your microphone is in use.)
If an app is using your camera when you don’t expect it to, it might be worth visiting the settings we detailed above (Settings > Privacy > Camera) and flipping the switch beside it to “off.” After that, the app will no longer be able to use your iPhone’s camera. Good luck!
RELATED: What Are the Orange and Green Dots on an iPhone or iPad?
