Webcams and microphones in laptops and smartphones are an everyday necessity in the twenty-first century, and even more so in this era of Zoom conferences and Skype calls. However, these devices can be a security nightmare if you don’t know how to prevent apps and services from accessing them without your consent. So today, we will show you how you can easily enable or disable (turn on or off) camera and microphone access on your Windows 10 laptop or desktop.

To use your camera and microphone with apps and services on Windows 10, you’ll first need to turn on permissions for those devices in privacy settings. Then, you’ll need to check your app permissions if you want to use these hardware with apps. The process is relatively easy when you know how to do it. So without further ado, here’s how you turn on or off (enable/disable) camera and microphone access in Windows 10:

  • Enable or Disable Camera Permission
  • Enable or Disable Microphone Permission

Note: The methods described below work for both built in cameras and microphones, as well as external imaging and recording hardware.

You can enable or disable (turn on or off) camera for apps on your Windows 10 laptop, desktop or tablet in a few simple clicks. Here’s how to do it:

  • On the left pane, scroll down and click on Camera under App Permissions. You can now see (on the right pane) whether your camera permission in on or off.

That’s it! You have now successfully enabled/disabled camera permission for apps on your Windows 10 computer.

You can also enable or disable (turn on or off) microphone for apps on your Windows 10 laptop, desktop or tablet in a few simple clicks. Here’s how you do it:

  • To grant mic access for individual apps, make sure the toggle for ‘Allow apps to access your microphone’ is ‘On‘. Now scroll down to whitelist Microsoft Store apps according to your wish.

With increasing digital literacy, more and more people are becoming aware of the need for online privacy and, are demanding that the devices, apps and services they use, respect their data and identifiable information. So if you’re among that growing list of privacy-conscious users who value their personal data, use the tutorial above to disable (or enable) the microphone and camera (webcam) in your Windows 10 laptop or tablet. Along with that, you should also disable location tracking on your Windows 10 device to ensure complete peace of mind.