Apple Technician Explains Why Company Warns Against Using MacBook Camera Covers

An Apple technician has revealed why the company doesn't want consumers to use camera covers on their MacBooks.

Cupertino tech giant Apple recently issued a warning for users not to use camera covers on their MacBooks, regardless of the model. In a support page, the MacBook maker said users should avoid using camera covers on their Mac notebooks as these might damage the device's display and more.

An Apple technician, speaking with ZDNet on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the company's assertion that the use of camera covers can and will damage MacBook displays. This is even more important to note, especially now that consumers spend more time working from home on their MacBooks.

The technician said that since people began working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more users are opting to use camera covers on their MacBooks as a way to ensure privacy. The increase in the number of people who use camera covers, however, also resulted to an increase in the number of broken MacBook displays.

"But consequently, the number of screen breakages are up," the Apple technician said. "And it's a pretty distinctive screen break -- leaving a glowing white line down the middle of the display -- so we know why it's happened even if people are evasive about how the damage happened."

The technician said camera covers damage the screen because of the MacBook's very small clearance and tight tolerance. The MacBook, the employee said, has an "almost non-existent" thin bezel that can break "in a heartbeat" when something – even "anything" – gets stuck in the small space between the top and bottom half of the device when folded.

This clearance is so small that even something as tiny as a coin can break the display when it gets stuck in between the MacBook's top and bottom halves, the technician said.

The use of certain things to cover the integrated webcam on these expensive devices can also do other things as well, the technician added. These things – such as gum and glue – can leave sticky residue on the camera.

The technician added that AppleCare+ covers the cost of repairing damages caused by camera covers. Apple, however, recommends avoiding using camera covers altogether if possible or using a cover that's not thicker than a piece of printer paper, which measures 0.1mm thick.