Privacy mode: camera and mic off, at once

In progress. Privacy mode is built and being tested on phones and tablets. It isn’t in a release yet, and details may change before it ships. The builds page shows when it lands.

Ways to turn it on

• The Privacy button on the camera screen: one tap, no confirmation.
• A Quick Settings tile in the Android pull-down, which works from the lock screen.
• The notification while the phone streams or records.
• The computer: a button on each camera, one for all cameras, and a keyboard shortcut.
• A phrase you choose, recognised on the phone without sending any audio anywhere.

What happens

• The camera device closes and the microphone is released, so Android’s green camera and microphone indicators turn off. That’s the proof you can check yourself. On a Xiaomi Pad 7 in testing, the microphone was released 135 ms and the camera closed 229 ms after turning it on from the notification.
• The phone stays connected, so the computer shows “Privacy mode” on that camera, with no picture and no sound.
• Recordings show a privacy gap on the timeline, never footage.
• When it ends, the phone goes back exactly to where it was.

How long it lasts

Pick 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes, or until you turn it back on. The longest timer is 30 minutes; Settings can lower that limit but never raise it. A countdown shows on the phone, and a timed privacy mode resumes on its own after a short on-screen warning. The end time survives an app restart or a reboot.

Who can turn it back off

• On the phone: always. If it was turned on from the lock screen, the phone must be unlocked first.
• From a computer: off by default. “Allow remote resume” is a per-camera setting, so someone who turns a camera off for privacy can’t have it switched back on from another room.
• By voice: off by default, because hearing a phrase needs the microphone, and privacy mode exists to release it.