Laptop Webcam Light Flicking On & Off?

[JenGin]

I have Googled this but like with most times I try to turn to Google for answers I get numerous completely different answers and have no idea which one is the right one!

We have a small side desk in our bedroom with a laptop on it. The laptop remains on pretty much at all times as we sporadically use it when wanting to quickly check something online or send an email. Recently I've noticed that the little green light next to the webcam is on at times and off at other times. When it's on that, I thought, meant that the webcam is "live" but when I wake up the laptop the webcam screen isn't on, as in, no Skype or any other video calling software is running. I'd say the light is off more than on but there's no set pattern to it.

Many of the results point towards a harmless fault with the LED whereas other results are a bit more worrying/sinister. Has anyone ran into this before? Does the light coming on actually mean the webcam is live if absolutely nothing is running on the background?

I would be very wary and get your lap top checked out. Could be someone using your camera to see into your home. For now until you take your lap top in, put a peg over the camera.

It is possible for people to hack into webcams - until Covid and the advent of bloody Zoom I used to cover mine with a bit of tape.
I'd be covering mine, if I were you OP. It might just be a laptop fault, but what have you got to lose by covering it?

My colleague keeps a blob of bluetack over her webcam and just takes it off if she wants to use it. She's has no reason to do this but says its habit after readying about webcam hacking online.

Seems quite sensible if you have any concerns.

Put a sticker over the camera.

Monitor the green light.

As above poster it could be someone looking into your house.

If the frequency of the green light falls once the sticker is in place it could indicate this.

I've actually just closed the lid completely now as it's freaked me out and I wish I'd taken more notice of it previously. I'll take it to be checked at the computer shop but as it doesn't get used a huge amount I'm hoping it's nothing more than just on old and faulty light/webcam. Apparently it is common for the light to flicker or malfunction so I'm going to bury my head in the sand I assume it's that!

If the frequency of the green light falls once the sticker is in place it could indicate this.

Aha, very good thinking! I'll reopen it and just put a sticker over it and see if there's any difference before I take it in to be checked over the weekend.

Careful with putting something with adhesive directly onto the camera lens, maybe use a plaster with the pad covering the camera. Adhesive stuck on the lens can bugger up your camera.

Do you remember the story about Mark Zuckerberg? Guy who's pretty high in the tech industry and he still tapes over his webcam and microphone.

I would definitely say that hacking your webcam is more likely than a tech glitch. As a op says, cover the camera and see how long until your webcam light stops coming on. Interest would be lost.
Also, cut the end off an old microphone or earphone cable (used to always be a 3.5mm jack) and pop it in the microphone connection. This overrides the microphone receiver on the laptop and means they can't activate that either. When you want to use your mic then unplug the cut off Jack.

All the laptop cameras in my house are covered and are from the moment we take them out of the box.

Thanks @MugginsOverEre.

This is playing on my mind now that I've thought about it more and am going to take it in this afternoon to see if it's been hacked to put me out of my misery. Even if it had been hacked there's nothing I can do about it now but I'd prefer to know either way.

There was a case in the US a few years ago where the school was sued and had to pay out substantially. They supplied laptops to pupils. It was compulsory. Pupils couldn't say no.
Over time it came to light that the school staff were accessing the cameras and microphones whenever they liked. Apparently the school having the software to do this was in the small print. It was supposed to be a security measure in the event of laptop theft.
t came about after a pupil was called in to the office and parents phoned because of their kid's drug use. The parents, obviously horrified that their son was smoking weed at school were surprised to find that it was actually because he was seen at home, on a weekend, smoking a joint or cigarette in his bedroom. This meant that the school had been able to see into children's bedrooms or whatever room the laptops had been left in and observe the families unaware. A lot of the families were furious that they and their children could have been seen naked in their own bedrooms or other rooms around their home.

Makes me shudder to think!

Just get a cover for it, I fit one to all our computers when we buy them, very cheap on Amazon and you just slide them open or closed without getting glue on the lens