Apple warns owners not to close their MacBooks if they have a camera cover attached

Apple has published a support document that tells customers not to close their MacBooks if they have a cover over the camera.

It says:

"Closing your Mac notebook with a camera cover on it might damage your display. Designed to protect your privacy, Mac notebooks have a camera indicator light to let you know when the camera is on."

It goes on to say that the clearance between the display and keyboard has been designed with very tight tolerances. Therefore, adding a camera cover might damage the display when it is closed.

Just look at what happened to this user's new 16-inch MacBook Pro when he closed his display with a camera cover on.

Apple also explains that the web camera has been designed with privacy in mind and that the camera cannot be activated without the camera indicator light coming on.

Now, that may be very well and true, but sometimes we just want to be doubly sure - you know, confirm plus chop?

Or maybe we just don't want to be inadvertently caught on camera on a conference call when the app suddenly decides to turn the camera on.

If you really must have a camera cover, Apple recommends using one that is "not thicker than an average piece of printer paper (0.1mm)."

Personally, I put a small sticker over all my web cameras. It's thin, unobtrusive, and can be easily removed and replaced.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.