Can You Disable A Camera On A Cell Phone

Disable the iPhone Camera completely Disabling the camera access in iOS prevents the Camera app icon from appearing on the home screen, information technology turns off the lock screen photographic camera, and it also prevents all 3rd political party apps from using the photographic camera at all, which as yous may take guessed also disables FaceTime. No, you don't accept to physically remove the camera lens, this is all done by unproblematic software settings.

Why do this at all? Well, it's not unusual for corporate and educational iOS devices to remove the camera functionality completely, and there are plenty of security and privacy related reasons you'd want to plough off Photographic camera admission on an iPhone, even if it'south just temporary. Beyond the usual security reasons, preventing Photographic camera access may also be a adept matter to plough off for parents who want to restrict some basic features on a young kid'south iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, only without locking them into a single app with the total-diddled "child mode" of Guided Admission, even if just on a temporary basis.

Note that you can not disable the lock screen camera without also disabling photographic camera admission in general, and too y'all can't disable camera admission without too disabling the lock screen camera. This may change in futurity iOS versions but for at present that'south the way information technology goes.

Past the way, if you lot're on a modernistic iOS or iPadOS version, disabling iPhone or iPad camera is washed differently every bit shown here. What is covered in this particular article is older iOS versions prior to 11.

How to Disable the iPhone Camera Completely (iOS 11 and earlier)

This technically works the same on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch too, we'll focus on iPhone since more than people utilize the iPhone camera than the other iOS devices.

Open "Settings" and then get to General, then go to "Restrictions"
Enter the restrictions password if you accept ane set, or fix one if yous haven't yet
Under "Let" flip Camera to OFF – note, this will automatically disable FaceTime as well
Close out of Settings

Turn off access to the iPhone camera

Get back to the Home Screen and you lot'll notice Camera app is missing:

Camera disabled and removed from the iPhone home screen

In it's place, or at least on the same home screen page, you'll notice a blank spot instead. Besides, you'll find the selection to start FaceTime calls is missing from everywhere yous'd usually use information technology through Contacts and active phone calls.

Lock the screen by hit the power push, and note the lock screen gesture based slide-to-access photographic camera option is now gone:

Disable the Lock Screen Camera on iPhone

In it'southward identify is zilch, the "Slide to Unlock" department takes up the full identify, like to how information technology did on before versions of iOS before the lock screen Camera was always visible.

Third Party Apps Prevented from Accessing Camera in iOS Too

To be articulate, disabling Camera volition prevent all tertiary party apps that typically apply a camera from using that attribute of the awarding. This includes apps like Skype, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Afterglow, and any other app that would usually have photographic camera functionality built into it.

Re-Enable Photographic camera Access in iOS

Allowing Camera admission once more is simply every bit unproblematic every bit turning it off, and it's fast enough that information technology can be a valid solution for preventing temporary photographic camera access for limited situations, particularly since the Restrictions section of iOS volition be password protected and thus prevent anyone from toggling the setting themselves.

To re-enable the Photographic camera, yous merely need to get back into Settings > General > Restrictions and flip Camera dorsum to ON. You lot may also desire to flip FaceTime back to on, otherwise it volition stay off while Camera is reenabled.

Get back to the dwelling screen and you lot'll rediscover Camera app in it's original location, the swipe-admission camera volition likewise be dorsum on the Lock Screen, and you'll exist able to make phone calls again.