What you need to know
- Google appears to be preparing a new privacy option for ChromeOS.
- The new feature will allow you to easily turn off your Chromebook’s camera via a native toggle, though other options are likely to be available in the final version.
- This feature appears to be housed in a new location known as the privacy hub.
Chromebooks could soon get a handy feature for turning off the webcam with only a few clicks. Google appears to be working on a new privacy hub for ChromeOS, which will likely house all of your privacy settings in one place once it goes live.
At the moment, the new hub appears to be incomplete, with only a single privacy option available: a camera toggle. This will obviously allow you to disable the camera, but Chrome Unboxed (opens in new tab) speculates that more options will be available once this feature is made public.
The new privacy feature has surfaced within the security and privacy section of the ChromeOS settings menu. Chrome Unboxed first spotted the privacy hub in ChromeOS’ Canary channel version 105.0.5121.0, although this flag appears to have already existed for a few weeks.
For the time being, the hub is essentially limited to the camera toggle. Nonetheless, when it is released to the public, Google is likely to add a few more options. This could include the anti-snooping feature, which was first discovered last year. The snooping protection tool will presumably warn you when someone else is looking over your shoulder. A similar option for your Chromebook’s microphone is another likely candidate.
While many of the best Chromebooks already allow you to disable the webcam, the process requires a few clicks. The new privacy hub is a convenient way to access those capabilities in one place.
It will complement an upcoming nifty method for customizing your wallpaper, screensaver, or theme. These features are a welcome addition to ChromeOS, and the privacy hub, in particular, is an efficient way to prevent your webcam from spying on you.
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