How to Enable and Disable Camera on Windows 11

Most of us may not understand how is it even possible to capture a picture. Like, how can you get a hold of something that is seen by the eyes? It is more than difficult for us to understand such a vast concept but, we do understand that since the technology of cameras is introduced to the world, things have changed drastically. From video calling to capturing pictures and securing our properties with surveillance, cameras are more of an important part of our lives than you think. That is probably the most plausible explanation for why we have cameras on many of our devices these days. From laptops to mobile phones and even cars have been loaded with good cameras nowadays. Forget everything, we have different things with cameras which we were not even expecting like a camera pen for spying or a camera on your pet’s collar for its safety and whatnot. 

Honestly, we are surrounded by cameras everywhere around us. Um, wait! Is it alright to always be surrounded by cameras? Like, is it safe? The answer is a big, fat ‘NO’. There have been many cases where people did not pay attention to their privacy and ended up being victims of something severe just because they were being watched by a camera and used a malicious app or website on their devices.  

You may not even know if you are completely alone while reading this article comfortably at your home…hey, I’m watching you through your device’s camera. 

So, to save ourselves and our privacy from anything and everything wrong that goes on the Internet, there are some ways. Since we are talking about cameras, then it’s best to know how to enable and disable the camera on your Windows 11 device to prevent any harm, directly or indirectly. 

How to enable and disable camera on Windows 11

There are many apps over the Internet which ask for camera permissions when we use them for the first time and since we do not pay attention to those minor details, we always end up giving them all the permissions they ask for. But, what would a music player app do with your camera? Suspicious, isn’t it? Although this was just an example, there are many such imposters on our devices that do not require camera permissions to work but they end up taking them either way. What can we do about this? Quite simple, just disable the camera on your Windows 11 device itself with these easy steps: 

1. Press the ‘Windows + I’ keys to open the ‘Settings’ App. You can also click on the ‘Start’ icon and search for the ‘Settings’ App there. 
2. From the navigation panel on the left side of the Settings App, locate and click on ‘Privacy & Security’ option. 
3. Now keep scrolling in the ‘Privacy & Security’ section till you can see ‘App permissions’. Below it, you’ll find an option for ‘Camera’. Click on it.
4. And then, you’ll see a toggle bar at the top saying ‘Camera Access’. Turn it off.

Now, the camera on your Windows 11 device is completely turned off and no app, website, or program can use it now. That is a good thing but the problem is, whenever you’d want to use the camera on your Windows 11 device, you’ll have to manually enable it again by following the same process again and again. Though it provides complete security over any malice, it may also take a significant amount of time to enable and disable the camera on your device, again and again. Not to mention, it is annoying too. 

So, it is recommended to manually select which apps can and can’t use the camera on your Windows 11 device. To do so, here are the steps:

1. From the ‘Privacy & Security’ section, do not turn off the toggle bar for the camera. If it is turned off, turn it on again. 
2. Just below the camera tile, you’ll find another tile ‘Let apps access your camera’. Turn it off if you do not want any app to use your device’s camera. 
3. You can avoid turning it off if you want some apps to use the camera on your Windows 11 device. Manually enable and disable any and all of the apps from using the camera by clicking on their toggle bars.
4. Point to be noted, these are just the in-built apps from Microsoft and not any third party apps. Scroll down a bit and you’ll see ‘Let desktop apps access your camera’ this toggle bar.
5. Turn it off if you do not want any third party apps to use the camera on your device and vice versa. Alas! We cannot individually select any apps to give camera permission. You can either allow all of them to use the camera or none. 

This was all about how to enable and disable the camera on Windows 11. Although the biggest problem is solved now, some users may also find their camera devices being used by some apps or programs. This can also be a great problem but, preventing it from causing any harm is extremely easy. 

To enable and disable any camera device on your Windows 11 device, follow these steps: 

1. Open the ‘Settings’ App by either of the ways mentioned earlier.
2. Click on ‘Bluetooth & Devices’ on the left side of the screen.
3. You’ll then be directed to a window which will show you the devices which can be paired with your Windows 11 device. Locate and click on ‘Cameras’. 
4. You’ll get the list of any or all camera devices connected to your Windows 11 device and you can easily disable them by clicking on the camera device’s tile and then clicking on ‘Disable’. 
5. You might be asked to confirm your action, so click on ‘Yes’ and that’s enough for disabling any camera device on your Windows 11 computer.
6. You can enable those disabled camera devices again by simply clicking on ‘Enable’ too.

Windows provides a great deal of features and productivity to us but it is our duty to make sure we and our privacy are safe. So in order to protect yourselves and your privacy, you can take every precaution that you may think of even if it includes completely turning off the camera or a camera device or permitting only some selected apps to use them. Be sure to leave a comment and feel free to ask any questions too.