How to see which app is using your camera (Windows, macOS and your browser)

People ask which app is using their camera for two reasons. Either the camera will not work because 'another app is using it', or they worry that something is recording them without permission. The tools to answer both are built into the system, and the answers are usually simple.

On most systems, a webcam can send its video to only one program at a time. If Zoom, Teams, OBS or a browser tab already has the camera open, a second program will show a black picture or an error such as 'camera in use'. The first program may be hidden: a minimised window, a background process or a browser tab you forgot about.

Closing the program fully, not just minimising it, releases the camera. In a browser, close the tab that was using it.

Open Settings, then Privacy and security, then Camera. You will see a switch for camera access, a switch for letting apps access the camera, and a list of apps. On current versions of Windows 11, each app in the list shows when it last used the camera, which makes it easy to spot something that accessed it recently.

Windows also shows a small camera icon in the notification area while an app is using the camera. Hover over it to see the app's name. Note that some desktop programs are listed in a separate section called desktop apps, and those have one shared switch.

On a Mac, a green dot appears in the menu bar whenever the camera is active. Open Control Center while the dot is on, and the app that is using the camera is listed in the camera entry on recent versions of macOS.

To review which apps have permission at all, open System Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Camera. Switch off any app you do not recognise or do not use for video. The built-in camera has a hardware indicator light as well, which switches on whenever the camera is active and cannot be controlled by software.

Browsers ask for permission per website. In Chrome, a tab that is using the camera shows a camera or recording indicator on the tab, and a camera icon appears in the address bar. Click it to see and change the permission for that site.

To see every site that has permission, open the browser's settings, go to Privacy and security, then Site settings, then Camera. Remove any site you do not want to allow, and set the default to 'ask' so that sites must request permission each time. Other browsers have the same list under their site permission settings.

Close the browser completely, including background processes, and check the system tray or menu bar for apps that run quietly: video calling tools, screen recorders, virtual camera tools, and manufacturer utilities for webcams or laptops. Some of them hold the camera open to provide effects.

If that does not help, restart the computer. A restart closes every program and releases any stuck driver connection. If the problem returns after a fresh start, update or reinstall the camera driver, and check whether a recent software update changed the privacy settings.

Look for the indicator light. Most built-in and external webcams have a light that shows when the camera is on, and on many models it is wired so that it cannot be turned off without turning off the camera. If the light is off, the camera is off.

Keep the permission lists short: only apps and sites that really need the camera should have access. A physical cover or a sliding shutter is the simplest guarantee, and it costs very little. Keep your operating system and browser updated, because updates close security holes.

Once the camera is free, open a camera test to confirm that the picture appears and that it is the camera you expect, because computers with several cameras sometimes pick the wrong one. If the test works, the problem was a permission or another app. If it still shows a black picture, try another USB port or another browser before suspecting the hardware.