If you rarely use your laptop’s webcam or have concerns about your privacy and security, you can easily disable the camera in Windows 11. This guide shows you how.
On Windows 11, you can access and open the laptop camera using the built-in Camera app. In addition to that, other apps can access your laptop webcam just as easily. For example, messaging apps such as Teams/Slack/Zoom and your browser can access your webcam with just a single click.
Generally, this is quite useful as it allows you to use the laptop camera in the app of your choice. However, if you are not a webcam user or want to take extra steps to protect your privacy and security, you can completely disable the laptop camera in Windows 11 and make sure no application can access it.
So, let’s get started.
Disable Laptop Camera in Windows 11
Use these steps to fully disable the laptop camera on Windows 11:
- Open the Windows 11 Settings app.
- Navigate to the “Privacy & Security” tab on the sidebar.
- Scroll down and click/tap on the “Camera” option.
- Turn off the “Camera access” option.
- The laptop camera is disabled on Windows 11.
Let’s see these steps in more detail:
Firstly, use the Windows key + I keyboard shortcut to open the Windows 11 Settings app. Alternatively, you can also search for “Settings” in the Start menu or right-click on the Start menu icon and select the “Settings” option.
Once the Settings app opens, navigate to the “Privacy & Security” page on the sidebar. This page hosts all the options to manage Windows 11 privacy and security options.
On the “Privacy & Security” page, scroll down to the “App Permissions” section and click/tap on the “Camera” option.
Here, turn off the “Camera access” option. Once you turn off the option, the camera is completely disabled and no app can access it.
Disable Laptop Webcam in Windows 11 using Device Manager
An alternate way to make sure no app can access your Windows 11 laptop camera is to disable it in the Device Manager. Once you disable the laptop hardware in Device Manager, it will no longer be available. Here’s how to do it.
- Click/tap on the Windows 11 Start icon on the taskbar.
- Start typing “Device Manager.”
- Click on the relevant result to open Device Manager.
- Expand the “Cameras” option.
- Right-click on the webcam entry.
- Select the “Disable device” option.
- Click/tap the “Yes” button.
- The Windows 11 laptop camera is disabled via Device Manager.
Related how-to guides on Windows 11 privacy & security:
- How to enable or disable Presence Sensing on Windows 11
- How to disable Cortana on Windows 10 & 11
- How to setup VPN on Windows
- How to disable Start menu search ads on Windows 11
- How to turn off diagnostic data on Windows 11
- How to delete Windows 11 activity history
- How to enable kids mode in the Microsoft Edge browser
- How to hide Amazon order history
- How to clear File Explorer’s address bar history
- How to disable app launch tracking on Windows 10
- How to disable Microsoft compatibility telemetry
- How to remove suggested content and tips in Windows 10 settings app
- How to setup OneDrive personal vault
- How to delete your personal data from Microsoft account
- How to disable location tracking on Windows 10
I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.
If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.
