- Step 1.Navigate to Settings>Lock Screen and Security> App Shortcuts
- Step 2.Choose the “Camera Shortcut” and then toggle the slider to disable the camera shortcut. This way, you will remove the camera on your Android phone’s lock screen.
How to Disable Camera on Android Phone?
If you have an Android phone it’s likely that your phone’s camera is one of those apps you use the most. Maybe you love taking photos, recording videos, or you even use it for work. While a camera is useful in several ways, it’s worth noting that it can also be a loophole in terms of data security and privacy, especially if you are an enterprise with employees using Android phones for work.
In fact, malicious actors can hack or access your camera and use it to steal sensitive information that can lead to a data breach.
In this regard, here is a guide on how to disable your camera on an Android phone for privacy or security or to boost employee productivity.
1 How to Disable Camera on Android Permanently?
The camera app is one of those built-in apps and services on the Android phone. So, unfortunately you can’t really uninstall it the way you uninstall other downloaded apps.
However, you can always disable the camera app especially if you feel the app is a weak point in your security or it’s a threat to privacy. This is one way to ensure that malicious actors won't access and use the app to execute a breach.
It’s worth noting, though, that once you have permanently disabled your camera, other services or apps that use the camera will stop using it and may malfunction.
There are many ways to disable the camera on Android permanently, depending on your scenario. You can use the Android phone settings or a suitable third-party app as expounded below.
1Disable Camera in Settings
One of the easiest and most popular ways to disable a camera on an Android phone is via the system settings. The following are two options for you to disable the camera in Settings.
Option 1: Disable the Camera App
This option allows you to disable the camera app completely, meaning no app or service can use the camera on your device.
Here is how to disable the camera app on Android (The steps illustrated are for Google Pixel 2 XL phone):
- Step 1.Open your Android Phone and swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access your Phone’s app list. Now, head towards the bottom of the screen and tap the “Settings” app.
- Step 2. In the next screen, choose “Apps” and scroll down to find the “Camera” app.
- Step 3.Tap this “Camera” app and you should see three option. Ignore the other options and select the “Disable” option.
- Step 4.You should see a pop-up warning that if you disable the camera, some of the apps and services might not function correctly or no longer work. Simply hit “Disable App” to confirm that you want to disable the camera.
Option 2: Disable Camera Access in Settings
You might also want to restrict certain other apps from using your phone's camera while still being able to use the Camera app yourself. In this case, you simply restrict access via your camera settings
- Step 1. Go back to the “Settings” menu and scroll down to the “Security & Privacy” section.
- Step 2. Next, scroll down and select the “Privacy” tab.
- Step 3.In the “Privacy” screen, scroll down and to the “Camera Access” option and toggle it to turn it off. Now, no app can use your Android phone camera.
2Disable Camera with Third-party Tool
If you’re a business with multiple company-owned Android devices, you might be looking for a convenient and effective way to disable your Android camera.
In such a case, a suitable third-party tool like Android Business is your best bet. This tool lets you disable cameras on multiple devices from a single console at the same time, saving you time, energy, and resources.
Furthermore, it provides an intuitive interface with plenty of good features and configurations to manage and secure bulk company-managed devices to ensure security, privacy, and productivity.
Here, we will show you how to disable camera by using AirDroid Business:
- Step 1. Click the following button to have a free trial, and then login the AirDroid Business admin console to enroll the devices you want to manage.
- Step 2. Create a policy for your devices in the "Policy & Kiosk" section.
- Step 3.Find out the camera settings in the "Restriction" and disable the camera.
- Step 4. Lastly, you can save and apply the policy to the devices. And now users cannot use the camera for any purpose.
2 How to Disable Camera for Certain Apps?
Sometimes, you may want to disable the camera on specific apps and not all the apps on your Android phone. Maybe you don’t want some apps/services to access your camera because they are probably the cause of target apps for potential security and privacy threats. The following steps illustrate how to easily disable the camera for certain apps on your Android device.
- Step 1. First, swipe up your Android device and tap the “Settings” icon.
- Step 2. In the subsequent screen, hit the “Apps” option to access the various apps on your Android phone.
- Step 3.Now, select the app you want to disable the camera and you should enter the respective app’s info screen. Here, select “Permissions” to proceed.
- Step 4.In the “App Permissions” screen, select “Camera” and toggle the respective slider to disable it. in other older versions, choose the “Don’t allow” option. Now, you can repeat this process for all the other apps you want to disable the camera on your Android phone.
- Other than the camera, you can also disable other permissions such as files and media, microphone, and call logs among others to protect privacy depending on your needs.
3 The Influence after Disabling Camera
A camera is a built-in and useful feature on your device. Various apps and services use the camera and hence disabling it is consequential. These consequences can either be positive or negative.
However, whether it is positive or negative, it is your needs that matter. In this section, we take a look at some of the consequences of disabling cameras on your Android phone.
Positive Impacts
- Enhanced Privacy Protection- If your camera falls into the hands of an intruder either directly or through some apps, it can be used to capture and steal private footage/images. Once your private data is in the hands of attackers, it can be used against you and this can prove costly. However, with a disabled camera, attackers/unauthorized users cannot capture or steal private information via the camera.
- Extended Battery Life- Camera is a power-hungry app and anytime you take videos or capture images, your device draws significant power from the batteries. The consumption is much higher especially if the frequency and duration of using the camera is high. It can even be worse if you accidentally open the camera and remain for long. However, with a disabled camera, you prevent these instances. This means you draw less power from the batteries hence extending your battery life.
Negative Impacts
- Inability to use Camera Features- With the camera disabled, you cannot use certain camera features like QR code scanning capability. So, if there used to scanning QR codes for certain services with your phone, then you won’t enjoy these services with the same phone.
- Application function restrictions- Some applications on your Android phone use the camera to execute some functions. For example, a video streaming app will need permission to use your camera for video recording. Now, with the camera disabled, such apps will be restricted only to functions that don’t use the camera.
Conclusion
Disabling the camera on your Android phone is actually that easy! Android gives you control when it comes to disabling the camera on a single device directly including for those apps using the Camera. If you’re a business looking to disable cameras on multiple Android phones at a go then consider a suitable third-party tool like AirDroid Business. This will allow you to disable the camera on all managed Android devices with just a few clicks!
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