Webcam Shield, available in Avast Premium Security, and Avast Omni, prevents applications and malware from accessing your PC's webcam without your consent. With Webcam Shield enabled, untrusted applications cannot capture images or videos, or send these contents outside of your PC.

Disable Webcam Shield

Webcam Shield is enabled by default. We recommend always keeping Webcam Shield enabled and only disabling it for temporary troubleshooting purposes.

To disable Webcam Shield:

1. Double-click the Avast Premium Security shortcut on your desktop to open the application.
2. Go to Privacy ▸ Webcam Shield.
3. Click the green (ON) slider so it changes to red (OFF), then specify for how long Webcam Shield will remain disabled.
4. Click OK, Stop to confirm.

Webcam Shield is now disabled. To manually enable it, click the red (OFF) slider so that it changes to green (ON).

Modify Settings

To adjust how Webcam Shield handles applications that attempt to access your webcam:

1. Double-click the Avast Premium Security shortcut on your desktop to open the application.
2. Go to Privacy ▸ Webcam Shield.
3. Click Settings (the gear icon) on the top-right corner.
4. Select one of the following modes to define Webcam Shield sensitivity:
   • Smart Mode (selected by default): Automatically allows trusted applications to access your webcam. If an untrusted application attempts to access your webcam, a notification appears asking you to allow or block the application. After selecting an option, the application appears on the Blocked & Allowed apps list where you can view its status and select additional actions.
   • Strict Mode: Notifies you every time any application attempts to access your webcam and allows you to decide if the application is blocked or allowed. After selecting an option, the application appears on the Blocked & Allowed apps list where you can view its status and select additional actions. You can disable the notifications by ticking Don't show Webcam Shield reminders.
   • No Mercy Mode: Notifies you every time any application attempts to access your webcam, then automatically blocks it. You can disable the notifications by ticking Don't show Webcam Shield reminders.

Troubleshoot issues

Refer to the information below to troubleshoot common issues:

• Webcam Shield displays pop-ups too frequently: ensure that Webcam Shield sensitivity is set to Smart. If Webcam Shield is set to Strict, Avast notifies you every time any application attempts to access your PC's webcam.
• Your PC's webcam stopped working: ensure that Webcam Shield sensitivity is set to Smart or Strict. If Webcam Shield is set to No Mercy, Avast prevents all applications from accessing your PC's webcam.