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Configure access settings for your webcam with SafeCam

Applicable for: Windows

SafeCam helps prevent applications and malware from accessing your PC's webcam and microphone without your permission. With SafeCam turned on, untrusted applications cannot capture images, videos, or audio or send these contents outside your computer.

Protection for the microphone is available only for Windows 10 and later (excluding Windows in S mode, Windows running on ARM processor).

SafeCam offers three behavior modes that control how it responds when applications attempt to access your webcam and microphone:

  • Smart Mode: Automatically allows trusted applications to access your webcam or microphone. If an untrusted application attempts to access your webcam or microphone, a notification asks you to allow or block the application. After selecting an option, the application appears on the app permissions list, where you can view or change its status.

  • Strict Mode: Notifies you every time any application attempts to access your webcam or microphone and allows you to decide if the application is blocked or allowed access. After selecting an option, the application appears on the app permissions list, where you can view or change its status.

  • Block access to webcam and microphone: Automatically blocks all applications that attempt to access your webcam or microphone.

    When you select Strict Mode or Block access to webcam and microphone, you can select Don't show SafeCam reminders to disable notifications about automatically blocked or allowed apps.

Configure SafeCam settings

  1. Open your Norton device security product.

  2. On the left pane, click Privacy.

  3. In the Privacy dashboard, in the SafeCam tile, click Open.

  4. In the SafeCam window, configure the following settings:

    • Protect your microphone: Turn on this option to prevent unauthorized access to your microphone.

      This option is available only in Windows 10 and later (excluding Windows in S mode, Windows running on ARM processor).

    • Under Select your preferred mode, select a behavior mode. Your options are:

      • Smart Mode (Recommended)

      • Strict Mode

      • Block access to webcam and microphone

Allow or block programs from accessing your webcam and microphone

Your Norton product alerts you when it detects a suspicious program attempting to access your webcam and microphone. You can act on such programs by adding them to App permissions list and blocking them from accessing your protected data.

  1. Open your Norton device security product.

  2. On the left pane, click Privacy.

  3. In the Privacy dashboard, in the SafeCam tile, click Open.

  4. In the SafeCam window, click the App permissions tab.

  5. Click Add Application/+ Add.

  6. In the Which apps do you want to add? window, click Add next to the program that you want to add.

    If the program is not listed, use the Manually Select App option to navigate and select the program.

  7. Repeat Steps 5-6 for each program that you want to add.

    For each added program, your Norton product blocks the program from accessing the webcam and microphone.

    If you are sure the program is safe, you can change the state from Blocked to Allowed. Your Norton product does not notify you if any Allowed program accesses your webcam and microphone.

DocID: v20240108184626606
Last modified: 04/24/2025

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