--- title: "Facebook’s iPhone App is Secretly Using Your Camera As You Scroll" description: "The Facebook iOS app is turning on users' camera without informing them, according to Twitter user Joshua Maddux, who uploaded a screen capture video." date: "2019-11-12" modified: "2019-11-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-iphone-app-camera-scroll" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "facebook" - "iOS" - "iphones" - "the digest" --- # Facebook’s iPhone App is Secretly Using Your Camera As You Scroll ![The Facebook iOS app is turning on users' camera without informing them, according to Twitter user Joshua Maddux, who uploaded a screen capture video.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Creepy Glitch Did we just find out why Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg decided to [tape over]() the webcam on his laptop? Facebook's iOS app is turning on users' cameras without informing them, [according to Twitter user Joshua Maddux](), who uploaded a screen capture video on Sunday. *The Next Web* was able to [replicate the bug]() independently. All in all, it's not a good look for a company that's been embroiled in a number of privacy-related controversies over the last couple of years. And Facebook, as usual, is saying there's no cause for alarm. ## Activating Camera The bug causes the camera to activate in the background as the user scrolls through their feed and appears to be linked to the way the app goes into "story" mode by opening the camera. A different Twitter user [found that]() the camera UI opens up when rotating from landscape to portrait mode. The glitch appears to only affect iPhones running the latest iteration of iOS 13. ## 3, 2, 1... Cheese! In a [statement to *TechCrunch*](), a Facebook spokesperson said that a November 8 update "inadvertently introduced a bug that caused the app to partially navigate to the camera screen adjacent to News Feed when users tapped on photos." But Zuckerberg isn't about to get a first person view of your living room. "We have seen no evidence of photos or videos being uploaded due to this bug," the spokesperson said. **READ MORE:** [Facebook is secretly using your iPhone’s camera as you scroll your feed]() \[*The Next Web*\] **More on Facebook:** *[Facebook is Opening Privacy Check-Up Cafes, for Some Reason]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()