Recently, there has been a lot of buzz around Smart AI devices and apps listening to our conversations. It can happen with your browser as well. The malicious sites may inject some code and gain access to our microphone and camera.
They can misuse and access these two services without our consent. Hence, it is suggested that we block these two access permissions unless we trust the website completely.
The microphone in any device is used for calling and recording purposes. Hence, allowing permission on our trusted website is better and restricts everything else.
Also, it’s essential to know that you should grant permission to the microphone or camera only if required. It should be temporary access, and you should revoke to disable the camera and microphone.
Block Microphone Access
The microphone access permissions default to blocking mode in Chrome Android. However, checking if you’ve mistakenly enabled them for any website is essential. Here are the steps to block permission:
- Launch the Google Chrome App for Android.
- Tap on the More
menu for options. - Select the Settings menu from the list.
- Scroll down to Site Settings and tap to open it.
- Within Site Settings, select the Microphone option.
- Turn OFF the toggle button to block the Microphone access.
This will block the microphone access to all the sites on Chrome Android. Now websites can’t record your voice without your consent.
If you want to allow microphone permission, you must enable it for individual sites. To do that, change the settings to ‘Ask first’. Now, whenever a site requests Microphone access, you can allow it as your preference.
Block Camera Access
Just like the microphone, camera permission can be enabled for all the sites and can be misused. Hence, disabling the camera permission using camera settings for all sites is strongly recommended. Here are the steps to block Camera permission:
- Launch the Chrome App for Android.
- Tap on the More menu for options.
- Select the Settings menu from the list.
- Scroll down to Site Settings and tap to open it.
- Within Site Settings, select the Camera option.
Camera access is blocked by default in Chrome Android. - However, if it’s ON, you can switch to Turn OFF the toggle button to block Camera access.
The camera and video recording permission will be completely blocked for all the sites. The camera access is set to block by default. However, if it enables any chance, the above steps will help block it.
It’s suggested to keep the option of blocking mode since most of the websites won’t request camera access. However, disabling this option will completely block the camera setting.
Video Demo
Here is the video guide on blocking camera permission and microphone access on Chrome for Android. If you disable microphone access, voice search for the browser won’t work.
Bottom Line
Most websites do not need camera and microphone permissions within the browser. Hence, we can (and should) safely block these two permissions within the browser. If these services are misused, we can fall prey to online piracy.
After discovering the feature to block camera and microphone access via the Chrome site settings, I could browse stress-free while making online purchases since I had no fear of data loss or invasion of privacy.
Similarly, there are also options to configure the camera and microphone in a Chrome computer. This will limit the camera and microphone usage within the sites browsing the computer browser.
What are your camera and microphone settings in the browser? Do you keep it blocked just like me to protect privacy?
Lastly, if you've any thoughts or feedback on How to Customize Microphone and Camera Access on Chrome Android, then feel free to drop in below comment box. You can also report the outdated information.
