How do I disable the video camera on Zoom meeting

Zoom has seen a huge growth in its popularity since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown. I’ve used it many times myself, both on my PC and iPhone. But there are times when I don’t want my colleagues to see me on video. So, I did some research and experimentation with the desktop client and mobile app to understand the options to disable my video in Zoom.

STEP 1

On the menu you will see:

• Start with Video
• Start without Video
• Join Meeting

You can use the first two choices when hosting a meeting, the third is for joining a meeting someone else is hosting.

STEP 2

If you’re hosting the Zoom meeting but do not want to show your video feed, tap the second option, Start without Video. When the meeting screen opens it will show your Profile Picture instead of your video. You will also see the video camera icon in the control bar has a red line through it, confirming your video feed is off.

If at any time you wish to enable your video feed tap on the video camera icon in the control bar. You’ll notice it has “Start Video” written beneath it.

STEP 1

If you are joining a meeting that someone else is hosting, tap and hold the Zoom App icon to open the mini menu.

Choose the third option on the menu, “Join Meeting”.

STEP 2

On the next screen you’ll be asked to enter a Meeting ID or join with a personal link name. However, first scroll down to the Join Options.

STEP 3

When you have scrolled down you will see two settings you can toggle on and off. The first is about your Audio, and the second one is “Turn Off My Video”.

Push the slider button across to the right to disable your video.

STEP 4

You can now go back and enter the meeting ID before joining the meeting or use the personal link to join the meeting.

You will see the presenter in the main video. And where you would normally see a small window with your video you will see your profile image instead of your video.

The video camera icon in the control bar will have a red line through it, indicating your video of off.

When your video camera is switched on you will see your video feed in a small window above the main video window. The video camera icon on the control bar also has the text “Stop Video” beneath it, indicating your video camera is on.

To turn off your video tap the video camera icon on the control bar.

A red line will appear across the video camera icon, indicating the video camera has been disabled. And your profile picture will replace your video feed.

If you haven’t already got a webcam, consider getting one that incorporates a privacy shutter. The Logitech C920 HD Pro is a classic quality webcam but now is also available with a privacy shutter. It’s the Logitech C920S HD Pro. It offers widescreen 1080p video for desktop or laptop but with the addition of a substantial, fold-down lens cover. If you want one here’s the Logitech listing on Amazon.

If you already have an external webcam, or you’re using the webcam on your laptop, you can use an aftermarket lens cap or lens slider.

The Logitech C920, C922, and C930e webcams can all be retro fitted with a privacy shutter that is like the one for the C920S HD Pro. It’s simple, inexpensive, and available here on Amazon.

The lens slider is a far more unobtrusive device. It’s a two-part thin metal accessory that is stuck over your webcam’s lens, with the inner part able to slide to one side to uncover the lens. You can see a popular one available on Amazon here. The system works, but I find it fiddly and would probably use it on a laptop rather than an external webcam. 

Here we’re really getting low tech, a simple black sticker that goes over the webcam’s lens. These are low-tack releasable stickers, although they’re not going to be quick to remove.

I would recommend the black reusable webcam stickers by BLOCKED if you want to semi-permanently secure the camera lenses on your computer, smartphones, tablet, smart home devices, smart TVs, and game consoles. You get 57 stickers in 3 sizes in a single pack available on Amazon. 

This is a solution my wife uses all the time on her Logitech 920 HD Pro webcam. It’s simply a Post-it note or even a Post-it Arrow Flag that sticks to the front of the webcam. The post-it has enough tackiness to remain stuck to the front of the camera but doesn’t leave a gooey residue.

Since the Post-it to-do flags and arrow flags come in five colors (blue, green, red, pink, and orange) I’ve used them to quickly create video backgrounds on my iPhone. Enough light passes through the paper to record a solid color still or HD/4K video clip.