Six of the seven models we tested this spring had this indicator light problem, potentially giving consumers the false impression that the webcam was off when the camera was shut down, even if the microphone was still functioning.
The list includes the Aukey 1080p; Lenovo Essential FHD; Logitech C270 HD, Brio, and C920; and Razer Kiyo. Only the Microsoft LifeCam Studio performed as a user might expect, activating the indicator light when either the camera or the microphone was in use. (That webcam didn’t perform well in our test of video image quality.)
The flaw raises concerns that your privacy could be violated by stalkers, online bullies, identity thieves, or corporate spies.
“You may be saying things you don’t want anybody to know about,” says Glen Rockford, who oversees privacy and security product testing for CR. “You may be discussing a health problem with a doctor or proprietary information with a work colleague, and if someone is recording the conversation without you knowing, that’s a security problem.”
Beyond the potential danger from hackers, the problem could lead to embarrassing moments. People often forget to leave a teleconferencing call until they notice the light on their webcam. If you’re just using your webcam for audio and the indicator light is off, you’d never have that signal that the call is still live.
Want to know whether your webcam has this characteristic? It’s not hard to check. Start a video call using Google Meet or Zoom, turn off the camera using the in-app controls, but leave the microphone on, and see if the light on the webcam stays illuminated or shuts off.
When Consumer Reports asked Aukey, Lenovo, Logitech, and Razer to comment on our findings, they all told us that the status indicator light on their models behaves as intended.
“As you noted, the light only goes off when the video is turned off,” a Lenovo spokesperson told us in a statement typical of what we heard from the other manufacturers. “The turning on and off of the microphone function does not affect the LED indicators. This is behaving as designed and in the same manner as many of the webcams that are on the market from other suppliers.”
At the moment, there are no reports of this problem being actively exploited, but the risk could be rising as more people buy external webcams—consumers and businesses spent an estimated $350 million on the devices in 2020, according to the NPD research firm, which is roughly four times more than in any of the previous three years.
“Regardless of the intention of that light, if consumers find it misleading, then that itself is an issue,” says Ryan Pickren, a security researcher who last year found a flaw in Apple’s Safari web browser that allowed him to gain unauthorized access to the built-in cameras on iPhones.
