1 in 4 online users allow apps access to mic, webcam: Study

New Delhi: Almost a quarter of online users always give apps and services permission to access their microphone or webcam, according to a global study of 15,000 people.

However, overall awareness of webcam security is promisingly high, with nearly six-in-ten worried that someone could be watching them through their webcam without them knowing, and 60 per cent concerned that this could be done via malicious software, said the study conducted by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.

But the results come at a time when there is higher usage of video conferencing platforms amid the pandemic.

Understandably, with these technologies and apps helping people to navigate the events of the past year across work, social and entertainment needs, people have expressed a willingness to allow app access to their microphone and camera.