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Facebook bug shows camera activated in background during app use
Some people have complained their cameras got turned on while they were looking through Facebook's app.
When you're scrolling through Facebook's app, the social network could be watching you back, concerned users have found. Multiple people have found and reported that their iPhone cameras were turned on in the background while they were looking at their feed.
The issue came to light through several posts on Twitter. Users noted that their cameras were activated behind Facebook's app as they were watching videos or looking at photos on the social network.
After people clicked on the video to full screen, returning it back to normal would create a bug in which Facebook's mobile layout was slightly shifted to the right. With the open space on the left, you could now see the phone's camera activated in the background.
This was documented in multiple cases, with the earliest incident on Nov. 2.
[...] "I thought it was just my phone or the app acting up," Lasafin said in a direct message. "Then I observed it became more persistent that evening."
Facebook would like to assure users that it was unintentional that the layout bug revealed that the camera was secretly activated.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @09:23AM (6 children)
as long as the phone cannot be opened, you can never confirm that the physical switch is in fact a physical switch. go with the librem stuff if you actually care.
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Wednesday November 13 2019, @04:21PM (2 children)
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday November 14 2019, @01:16AM
The Pinephone apparently is also going to have such switches.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 14 2019, @05:44PM
Don't hold your penis barbara hudson! Oh that's right: You can't. Fact about crackpot transtesticle Barbara Hudson: Barbara (tom) Hudson CHEMICALLY CASTRATED itself with estrogen since you failed as a man lol! You also FAIL as a "woman" you NEUTERED delusional freakazoid! What is is like knowing you are a living mockery? A parody of both a 'woman' or a man! You know that. Everyone knows it about you "TraNsTeSticLe" hohohohoho. Barbara Hudson is a twistoid mental case deluding itself it is a REAL woman. Clue: You will never EVER be able to pass a DNA test due to the fact you do not, nor did you ever, possess female mitochondrial material you crackpot weirdo. It isn't logical to attempt to "fix" bodyparts that work with no issues. You had a working (extremely small) penis and balls you sawed off with estrogen hahahaha!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @05:56PM (2 children)
Unless you can open the physical switch and put an Ohm meter across the terminals, toggle the switch, and verify the circuit opens, then you cannot trust a physical switch.
By the way, you'll also need to follow the traces back into the circuit board to ensure that you are indeed open-circuiting the camera part of the motherboard to be sure. A wiring diagram from your phone vendor might be helpful here.
But then again, unless you can open the chips and put them under a microscope and verify that it matches the aforementioned circuit diagram, you can't really trust your circuit analysis.
So unless you can do all of that, you don't ever really know, do you?
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday November 13 2019, @09:20PM (1 child)
Or you do it the simple way and put a slide plate or dot of tape over the camera until you need it. Inconvenient but much easier and cheaper.
Now microphones are a different story...
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 14 2019, @02:26PM
That's a nice set of speakers you got there, would be a shame if someone turned them into a microphone [wired.com]