macOS grants camera permission per application
Open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Camera. Every app that has requested the camera is listed with a toggle. Your browser must be enabled for this page to work, and Zoom, Teams or Skype must each be enabled separately.
One detail causes a lot of confusion: macOS only applies the change when the app is relaunched. Closing the window is not enough. Quit properly with Command-Q, then reopen.
The green light is a hardware guarantee. On every Mac, the green LED beside the camera is wired to the camera's power. It cannot be turned on or off by software, so if the camera is active the light is on. If the light is off, no software is watching, regardless of what any page claims.
There is no camera off switch on a Mac
Unlike Windows, macOS has no master camera toggle and no way to disable the camera globally. Permission is per application and that is the entire model. If you want the camera physically blocked, a sliding cover is the only option, and on a MacBook you must use a very thin one: the display closes to a tight tolerance and a thick cover can crack the screen when you shut the lid.
If the camera does not work anywhere
- Quit every app that uses the camera. Zoom, Teams, Photo Booth, FaceTime and Discord. Use Command-Q, not the red close button.
- Open Photo Booth. It is the simplest camera app on the Mac. If the camera works there, the problem is a permission for a specific app.
- Restart. This resolves most stuck camera states on macOS, which has no equivalent of Device Manager for resetting a driver by hand.
- Reset the camera process. Open Terminal and run sudo killall VDCAssistant. The camera process restarts automatically when next requested. This is a long-standing fix for a camera that reports as in use when nothing is using it.
- Check Screen Time. Under Screen Time, Content & Privacy, the camera can be blocked entirely. If it has ever been configured on this Mac, check there.
Camera quality on Macs
MacBooks made before 2021 have 720p cameras and they are not good. The resolution test tells you which you have. Later models moved to 1080p and are substantially better. The resolution reading in the panel above tells you which you have.
If you want better video without buying a webcam, Continuity Camera lets you use an iPhone as your Mac's camera. The result comfortably beats any built-in Mac camera, and it appears as a normal camera option in Zoom, Teams and this page.
Related
If the camera still will not start, the Mac camera troubleshooting guide goes further, including the in-use error and permission resets.
Common questions
Why is the green light on when I did not start the camera?
Some app has the camera open. The light is wired to camera power and cannot be faked in software. Check Zoom, Teams, FaceTime and Photo Booth, and quit them fully with Command-Q.
How do I turn off the camera on a Mac?
macOS has no global camera switch. Permission is granted per app under Privacy & Security, Camera. For a physical block, use a very thin sliding cover, since a thick one can crack a MacBook screen when closed.
My Mac says the camera is in use by another application.
Quit everything that touches the camera, then run sudo killall VDCAssistant in Terminal. That clears the stuck camera process, which restarts automatically on next use.
Can I use my iPhone as a Mac webcam?
Yes, using Continuity Camera. Both devices need to be signed into the same Apple account. The iPhone then appears as a camera option in any app, including this page.