While thereʼs only a small chance that your Macʼs camera can be hacked – especially with increased security of T2 chip controlling the peripherals on notebooks from 2018 and later – we understand that some of you want to be sure and decide to cover the camera.

But please use just a thin tape or a sticky. Do not use one of the plastic sliding covers. Current Mac notebooks are very thin and no space is left for the cover when the notebook is closed and sits in a tight slot such as a backpack or suitcase, or when grabbed by its top side.

Weʼve seen a spike in displays broken by pressure on the display by one of these covers. Usually thereʼs no crack in the glass covering the display but the display underneath is irreversibly damaged. Typical manifestation is a vertical line or stripes with different colours. The damage is of course not covered by warranty.

We still believe the best way to stay secure is to keep your software updated, and refrain from installing untrusted applications from suspicious sources. John Gruber, columnist and podcaster covering Apple for the last 20 years, wrote on his blog Daring Fireball:

“The problem isnʼt your camera, itʼs malware. Donʼt install any software from unknown or sketchy sources, keep your OS up to date, and you should be fine. And if you do have malware on your Mac, the webcam is likely the least of your problems.”

So, only give your account password to applications (and people) you trust, and use anti-virus and anti-malware applications from Mac Apple Store. And once in a while, check the list of apps which have access: