How to turn webcam OSD notifications on / off in Windows 10.
Camfecting (hacking a device’s webcam) is a form of cyberattack that not many people pay attention to. Malware or spyware can infect your webcam and record you without your knowledge. So, you should always be aware of the applications using your webcam.
How to Find Out What App is Using Your Webcam on Windows 10(Opens in a new browser tab)
A tiny LED indicator next to your computer’s webcam can help determine if your webcam has been compromised. It lights up whenever the app activates your webcam. But what if your laptop’s webcam doesn’t have a physical indicator? Or is the webcam LED faulty and not working? How do you know what the camera is recording?
The Windows operating system comes with a virtual on-screen display (OSD) notification that functions as a temporary webcam indicator.
When this feature is activated, Windows will send you notifications every time an app activates (or deactivates) your webcam. Webcam OSD notification is disabled by default on all Windows 10 devices.
In this guide, we are going to show you several ways to enable or disable webcam OSD notifications.
How to Turn On Webcam OSD Notifications
The ability to activate this feature is in the Windows registry. We have identified two ways to activate the registry file responsible for OSD notifications.
Note. The Windows Registry is a database of sensitive files and settings. Therefore, it is important to back up your registry before attempting to enable camera power on / off notifications. Damage to any registry file can damage the Windows operating system and disrupt your computer. The backup serves as your insurance in case something goes wrong. This guide to backing up and restoring your Windows registry has everything you need to know.
Method 1: Manually Modify OSD Registry File
1. Start the Windows “Run” window with the keyboard shortcut Windows + R.
2. Type regedit in the dialog box and click OK.
3. Paste the path below into the address bar of the Registry Editor and press Enter on your keyboard.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft OEM Device Capture
Find the key labeled NoPhysicalCameraLED. If you do not find this key in this directory, proceed to the next step to create it. Otherwise, go to step 6 to change its value.
4. Right-click an empty area in the directory and select New and DWORD (32-bit) Value.
5. Name the newly created key NoPhysicalCameraLED and press Enter.
6. Double-click NoPhysicalCameraLED or right-click and select Modify.
7. Change the Value to 1 and click OK.
8. Close the registry editor.
By changing the value of the NoPhysicalCameraLED registry key, you are telling Windows that your webcam does not have a dedicated physical LED. As a result, the Windows shell will offer an alternative – an on-screen indicator that lets you know when the webcam starts or stops streaming.
Method 2: Create a shortcut to the registry file
This is a faster alternative to create a text file with a registry extension (.reg). This registry file will serve as a shortcut that you can use to toggle the camera’s on-screen on / off notifications on and off at the touch of a button.
1. Launch Notepad and paste the content below into the window.
Windows Registry Editor 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft OEM Device Capture]
“NoPhysicalCameraLED” = dword: 00000001
2. Press Control + Shift + S to save the file.
3. Name the file, add the .reg extension to the end of the file name — for example, Enable-Camera-OSD.reg— and click Save.
4. Double-click the registry file to enable OSD notifications.
5. In the warning window that appears, click “Yes”.
6. You will receive a message that the keys and values have been successfully added to the registry. Click “OK” to continue.
Continue to the next section to check your webcam OSD On / Off notifications.
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How the OSD Camera Notification Works
When you enable OSD notifications to activate and deactivate the camera on your computer, Windows will show an alert every time the app activates your webcam. This is how it works.
Launch any application that requires camera access to function, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, etc. For a complete list of applications with camera access, go to Settings> Privacy> Camera.
Start a test video call or meeting in your preferred app. As soon as you turn on the video in the call window, or as soon as the application starts using your webcam, you should see the camera alarm in the upper left corner of your PC screen.
When the app stops using your webcam, a pop-up notification appears to turn off the camera and disappears within 5 seconds.
OSD Notifications Not Showing? Check These Out
If your computer does not display camera on / off warnings despite enabling OSD notifications in the Windows registry, try the following.
1. Restart your computer
Sometimes, changes made to the registry may not take effect until you restart your computer. Make sure you changed the NoPhysicalCameraLED registry key, restart your computer and try again.
2. Switch to an administrator account
You cannot make changes to specific registry keys from a standard or guest account. If you are unable to enable the camera for camera notifications in the OSD menu in Registry Editor, make sure you are logged in to Windows as an administrator. Go to Settings> Accounts> Your Information and make sure your account is labeled “Administrator.”
Please refer to this guide to learn how to change the default account to the administrator account in Windows 10.
Don’t Want OSD Notifications Anymore? 2 Ways to Turn It Off
If you no longer need Windows to display the onscreen camera notifications, here’s how to disable this feature.
Method 1. Modify the registry
Go to the registry and set the NoPhysicalCameraLED key back to its default value.
Double-click the NoPhysicalCameraLED section, change the Value parameter to 0, and click OK.
Method 2. Create a shortcut to the registry file
You can also create a special registry file that will serve as the shutdown button for the webcam’s on-screen notifications. Launch Notepad and follow the instructions below.
1. Paste the command below into a Notepad window and press Control + Shift + S to save the file.
Windows Registry Editor 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft OEM Device Capture]
“NoPhysicalCameraLED” = dword: 00000000
2. Name the file, add the .reg extension at the end of the file name, for example. Disable-Camera-OSD.reg – and click Save.
3. Go to your desktop (or where you saved the file) and double-click the file to turn off OSD notifications.
4. In the warning window that appears, click “Yes”.
An Extra Layer of Protection
Even if your Windows PC has a webcam indicator that is working correctly, you should also consider activating the OSD camera notification. This is an additional security system that notifies you of a hacked webcam.
If the webcam indicator or OSD camera notification comes on at odd times when you are not making a video call or recording a video, your webcam may be running in the background using an unrecognized program or browser extension. In this case, we recommend running a scan using Windows Defender or a third-party scanner.
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How to turn webcam OSD notifications on / off in Windows 10
How to turn webcam OSD notifications on / off in Windows 10.
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