How to Enable Privacy Indicators on Your Chromebook
Along with the release of Chrome OS Flex, Google is introducing new features for Chrome OS. They’re not only aimed at productivity users, but some new features also help improve privacy and security on the platform. Recently, Google brought Partial Split, a Windows 11-style Snap layout feature, to Chromebooks. And then there’s the Verified Access API, which is used to securely verify and validate Chromebooks for enterprise users. Now Chrome OS’s latest feature comes in the form of Android’s privacy indicators for microphone and camera use. In this guide, we offer you a tutorial on how to enable privacy indicators on a Chromebook. Backported from Android to Chrome OS, this feature alerts users when an app is using the camera or microphone in the background. It’s a great privacy-oriented feature and you should definitely enable it. With that in mind, let’s jump to the guide.
Enable privacy indicators for camera and microphone on Chromebook (2022)
The data protection indicators are currently active Chrome OS developer channel (Version 108.0.5323.0), and you must enable a Chrome flag for the feature to work. I’ve tested it on Chrome OS Beta and Stable channels but the flag isn’t there. I expect privacy indicators to roll out within 2-3 weeks for stable users so keep an eye out for the feature. With all that said, here’s how you can turn on the privacy indicators on your Chromebook.
1. To enable privacy indicators for the camera and microphone on your Chromebook, you must first enable a Chrome flag. To do this, open Chrome and Insert address as mentioned below and press Enter.
chrome://flags#enable-privacy-indicators
2. This will directly open the privacy indicator flag. Open the drop down menu here and Activate the flag.
3. After that, click “Start anew‘ below to restart your Chromebook.
note: Even after the reboot, I recommend shutting down your Chromebook and turning it back on. In my tests, no privacy ads were displayed after a soft reboot. So perform a full shutdown to apply the changes properly.
4. After the restart, open an app, e.g. B. Google Meet, which uses both the microphone and the camera. And you will see now Privacy indicators in the lower right corner where the quick settings panel is located. Here’s how you can get privacy indicators on your Chromebook.
5. The good thing is that Privacy indicators work for Linux apps also. I tested Audacity, one of the best recording software, and the privacy indicator popped up immediately warning me about microphone usage.
6. If you wish Disable privacy ads On your Chromebook, open the same Chrome flag and disable it from the drop-down menu. After that, restart your Chromebook.
chrome://flags#enable-privacy-indicators
Get notified when you use your Chromebook’s camera and microphone
Here’s how to turn on the privacy indicators on your Chromebook. As Chromebooks slowly go mainstream, it’s good on Google’s part to bring much-needed privacy and security features to Chrome OS. This is one of the best new features for privacy enthusiasts. If you want to learn more Chrome OS tips and tricks, check out our in-depth article. And to enable the microphone for Linux apps on your Chromebook, we have linked a detailed guide here. If you have any questions, let us know in the comment section below.