Digital Peeping Tom Preventors: Privacy-Protecting Phone, Tablet, and Computer Anti-Spy Camera Covers From Temu
By The Treasure-Sharer
In case you didn't already know, chances are, the cameras on your electronic devices can be accessed to spy on you. My man was aware that digital devices could be used to spy on you as far back as 2009. This was further confirmed when Mark Zuckerberg and other major players in Big Tech said that they used privacy stickers to cover THEIR cameras. They, of all people, should know how devices are used to spy, and how to counter it.
The article Mark Zuckerberg tapes over his webcam. Should you? shows how Zuckerberg inadvertently revealed how he covered the cameras and stereo jacks of his laptop with tape, and the article Bill Gates & Steve Jobs Limited Screen Time for Their Kids shows how both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates limit their children's use of digital technology.
My man saw a major player in tech using camera covers on his devices at roughly around 2012 to 2014, and wanted to get them even back then, but didn't know where to find them, and so made do with taping over the camera parts of his devices. I did that too, on his advice, but found that it became problematic when I would actually need to access the cameras of my devices sometimes, when needing to photograph or show my face for ID purposes, etc. In that case, I would need to unpeel the sticker or paper with tape that I had been using as a makeshift camera cover, and press it back down afterward, which would result in the stickers or whatever I was using becoming less sticky, and sometimes lifting up so that they no longer stuck to where they were supposed to, and left the camera exposed. Sure, I could have replaced them, but that was too annoying, and I was too lazy to actually do that, resulting in me wondering if the cameras on my laptop, tablet, and phone were actually being covered 100% of the time.
So when I discovered sheets of privacy stickers for covering cameras on phones, tablets, and laptops for sale on Temu, I decided to give them a try. They're such great value for what they do, especially when bought in larger quantities, like 10 or 20.
The privacy stickers are sticky on one side, so that you can remove the tape behind the adhesive and align the hole of the cover over the camera of your digital device. You can then slide the cover over the camera to hide it, and slide it back the other way when you want to use the camera. It's much easier than trying to stick and unstick a sticker, or tape over a camera. See below to see promo pictures of the stickers, including one showing close-ups of the sliding camera covers and how to slide them; one showing them applied to a tablet, laptop, and phone; and another showing the dimensions of the camera covers.
You can also see a quick explanation of how to apply them in the diagram below, also taken from Temu promotional material for the camera covers:
It's nice that these privacy protectors are so small, take up such little space, and give you quick and easy access to your camera when you need it. The window for the camera is large enough to leave plenty of room to apply the camera cover with ease, and ensure that you can still access the entire camera when you want to take photos or videos with it.
I unfortunately found that the stickers can become less sticky and fall off with use. I'm not sure if it was due to me sliding the camera cover too much, or something else, but I have had to replace the camera covers on my laptop once or twice, and the ones on my tablet once or twice. The one on my tablet was sliding around on the surface of my tablet before it finally fell off for good. I was glad that I had bought more to make them easy to replace. As one person who had bought and reviewed a set said, "These are great. Sadly they can catch on things. I have lost a few and broken a few. Hence why I bought a bunch of them." I haven't broken any, but have had some catch on things, and lost some, also.
My man hasn't had to replace the ones I gave him for his devices yet, but he also hasn't slid them back and forth, so it's not sure if they would have stayed on if he had.
A different person who left a review for a set of the anti-spy camera covers made a good point about this, however, saying that the "glue is light, if you push the protector with your thumb, it moves around, but you can still put it back in place by pushing it back. But I think it's that lightweight so you don't leave glue residue on your devices."
Below is an image of the camera portion of my laptop, with residue from, and even parts of, the stickers I had used to cover the camera previously, left on my computer, from back when I hadn't yet discovered the sliding camera covers. As you can see, the stickers were stuck on too well for me to peel off completely, leaving my laptop with, not only residue, but also very unattractive pieces of the stickers that wouldn't come off. You can see a similar situation with my tablet, which I had also covered with tape and stickers, and had residue on, from before I switched to using the anti-spy camera covers, in the next photo below.
If you like keeping your devices clean and free of residue, then I think that the stickiness-level of the adhesive used on the camera covers makes sense. However, if you are lazy and don't want to have to replace the stickers if they fall off, or buy more to replace them with, if you didn't buy enough initially, then the low level of stickiness may be an issue you might have with these camera covers. I know that I went through a period when I didn't have anything covering my cameras, and had them completely exposed, due to me never getting around to replacing the camera covers that had fallen off. It took my man reminding me to put new ones on for me to finally replace them. So it can definitely become a hassle to not have the assurance of them staying on your devices permanently.
See the images below to see how an individual anti-spy camera cover sticker looks from the front and the back, as well as how the sets of black camera covers, and white camera covers, look like (with some already removed, as I used and gave some away already).
I bought three sets of sliding camera covers on Temu: the first set of eight to try them out, and the second two sets of 20 black ones and 10 white ones later on, from a different vendor, when I had decided that these privacy protectors were awesome, and that I hadn't gotten enough to use on all our devices. I'm glad that I got a variety, because I was able to compare the similarities and differences between all of the different sets of camera covers.
The first set I bought had eight black camera covers, that were advertised as ultra-thin.
I gave some to my man and The Vagabond to try, and they thought that they were really cool, and were really pleased to receive them. Eight camera covers were totally not enough for all our devices, so I bought more, this time getting normal ones that weren't ultra-thin. I got black ones and white ones because I thought that white ones might be good for using on light-colored devices, if we wanted them to better-blend in. I was worried about the new sets I had ordered, because I had bought them because they were on sale for crazy-cheap prices, and I had forgotten about the ultra-thin feature when I had ordered them, and ordered ones that weren't described as ultra-thin by accident.
After comparing the camera covers advertised as ultra-thin with ones that didn't have any such claims, I honestly don't think that there is a difference between them. I had been worried about the new ones I had bought because they had said that they were metal in the description, and I was worried that they would end up being too thick, as my man said that thicker ones might scratch a laptop when you need to close it. However, when they arrived, they looked exactly the same as the supposedly-thinner ones did. I was totally happy that they were, but a little miffed that I had chosen the first set I had bought because of the "ultra-thin" description. See below for a photo of a side-by-side comparison of an "ultra-thin" camera cover and a not-advertised-as-"ultra-thin" camera cover.
They were really hard to photograph, since they were so small. I held one beside the other, but I only had one hand to hold them with, so it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins, but the similarity in their thickness is evident.
I actually couldn't even tell which camera cover was which, and ended up mixing up which was which, because I couldn't see any noticeable difference in their thickness. I later asked my man to check, and he couldn't see a difference in the thickness of the black camera covers either.
If anything, the white camera cover looked the thinnest out of all the camera covers, but it's really hard to tell from the photos I was able to take. See my attempt to show the thickness of all three kinds of camera covers side by side, in the photo below:
I initially chose the quantity of camera covers I had bought based on the number of devices that I planned to use them on, and the people I wanted to share them with, but, now, I'm glad that I bought extras to replace ones that might fall off, and advise you to keep that factor in mind when choosing a quantity to buy, so that you don't end up caught off guard with an exposed camera and nothing to cover it with, if you buy just enough for your devices and expect them to last you forever.
Review:
See below for an image of what was left of the first order of camera covers I bought, and how they were packaged and presented.
As you can see, some were cut into strips of two, which I thought was convenient when I first gave some to my man, and to The Vagabond. I later realized that they were designed in such a way that they could be detached individually, such that having them cut into strips of smaller quantities didn't really matter.
The second two sets of anti-spy camera covers I bought were packaged nicer than the first set I had ordered. The resealable packages they came in were more durable, and the camera covers I received came in sheets of ten (two sheets of ten for the 20 black camera covers I ordered, and one sheet of 10 for the white camera covers I ordered). See below for photos of the remainder of the camera covers I ordered and their packaging, and close-ups of the two colors of camera covers. The camera covers from the first set I ordered looked the same as the black ones from the next sets I ordered.
Pros:
-easy to apply to phone, tablet, computer, and other devices
-slide very well and easily from one end to the other
-good price-to-quality ratio
-very useful
-don't interfere with camera
-adhere easily
-each camera cover can conveniently be detached individually, so that you can give them away individually without having to unstick them or cut the paper with scissors
-light-weight, and don't add noticeable extra weight to your devices
-come in bulk quantities so that you can share them with family and friends, and so that you can have some as extras in case they fall off
-excellent product to help your security and privacy
-take very little space on screens
-very good price
-can choose how many you want to order, including quantities of up to 20
-can order in black or white, giving you more options to match your devices
-don't leave glue or sticker residue on your devices
-can be opened and closed (to hide and expose your cameras on your devices) easily
-can still use your cameras after applying them
-universally compatible with most devices
-ultra-thin design ensures that they don't scratch your laptop when you need to close it
-look more professional than using stickers or tape to cover your cameras
Cons:
-can fall off
-can move around after being applied, but can be pushed back in place
-can catch on things and get lost or break (although I haven't had any break on me yet)
-cannot be stuck to curved surfaces
Gem or Junk?
For us: Gem (4 stars out of 5)
The privacy-protecting anti-spy camera covers from Temu are something that you're better off buying large quantities of from the start, because, once you and others discover how practical they are, you're going to want to put them on all your devices, and those of your family members and those you care about. I started off with eight, and that was already too little. Especially because it's possible for them to fall off, you're going to want to have some on-hand to quickly replace ones that you lose, if they do.
Honestly, they are such a bargain for what they do that it's worth buying more at a lower price per privacy sticker, and anticipating needing to replace one or two every now and then. The innovative sliding design of these sliding camera covers is, in my opinion, pretty genius -- allowing you to still access and use your camera when you need it, and cover it again when you're done using it.
I think that if you can get some, I would, because, while you can use tape or a sticker to cover the cameras on your devices, those makeshift options can leave marks on your devices and look unattractive and obvious, and take up more space on your devices than necessary. If you care about appearances, then you'll appreciate how the privacy stickers look neat and unobtrusive, and are more convenient and easy to work with.
They are so affordable that it seems silly not to get a bunch.
Gems For Who?
1) People who care about privacy and security.
2) People who use phones, tablets, or computers with cameras.
3) People who have children who use devices.
4) People who want a convenient and fast way to cover and uncover the cameras on their devices.
5) People who want a cheap way to ensure that no one can spy on them through the cameras on their devices.
6) People who want a very affordable way to feel safer.
7) People who want to do what Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs do.
8) People who don't trust new technology.
9) People who want an easy-to-install solution to spying.
10) People who want affordable anti-spy solutions.
11) People who want unobtrusive anti-spy solutions.
12) Professionals who use their devices for work, and want something classier and more professional-looking than tape covering their devices' cameras.
Conclusion:
I think that the privacy-protecting camera covers from Temu are actually an important purchase that is worth everyone trying, to ensure that more people are protecting their privacy and themselves. If you want to know how to protect your privacy in a cheap and easy way, then I think that using anti-spy camera covers on your digital devices is one of the simplest, yet most effective, things you can do.
Like George Orwell warned in his book, Nineteen Eight-Four, "Big Brother is watching you."
Thanks to confirmation from such whistleblowers as Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, who shared evidence of global mass surveillance and other crimes that wouldn't have been made known to the public otherwise (see 7 ways the world has changed thanks to Edward Snowden for a summary of the impact of some of the information that Snowden made known), it is indisputable that our devices are being used against us without our knowledge and consent, to spy on us, track our behaviors and movements, and more.
The bargain anti-spy camera covers from Temu are a way that enables even the poorest to afford a way to at least protect themselves and their loved ones from having perverted Peeping Toms, hackers, and the government access their cameras, and use them to watch them and record them, without their knowledge.
If you can afford a device and its upkeep, and internet and cellphone plans, then consider these privacy protectors to be a super-cheap, super-necessary add-on.
If you want to try buying some sliding camera covers for yourself and loved ones, and don't yet have a Temu account, then please use my referral link to sign up, as it will give you a bundle of coupons totaling $100 in savings after you sign up, and also go toward helping us maintain the site and keep its content free.
See you in my next post! :)
