Most smartphones give you a quick shortcut to launch the camera directly from the lock screen, so you can quickly start taking a photo or video without having to unlock the phone first. This shortcut is usually in the form of an icon located in the bottom corner of the lock screen or a gesture that involves swiping the lock screen to the left/right. While this feature can be useful for some, it can also be annoying or unwanted as the camera app opens without unlocking the phone and it is very possible to accidentally open the camera and capture unauthorized photos. Therefore, you may want to hide the camera from the lock screen, and below we explain how you can do that whether you are using an Android or iPhone device.
Hiding the Camera from the Lock Screen on Android
Initially, it is important to note that there is no universal way to prevent the camera from being accessed from the lock screen on all Android phones. The process varies from phone to phone due to the diverse user interfaces on each device. For example, there are interfaces like Samsung’s One UI or LG UX from LG Electronics that display an icon on the lock screen that, when pressed by the user and swiped up, opens the camera. This icon can be removed or replaced through the settings.
However, on other interfaces like MIUI from Xiaomi or ColorOS from Oppo, there is an icon that cannot be removed from the settings. Instead, the entire theme must be changed to one that does not display the camera icon on the lock screen. This is the difference we are talking about. Taking this into consideration, below we will outline all possible ways to prevent the camera from being accessed from the lock screen on any Android phone.
If you are using a Samsung phone, you can open the “Settings” app and go to the “Lock Screen” section. After scrolling down, tap on “Shortcuts” and then click on “Right shortcut,” which is by default set to launch the camera app. Now you can disable this shortcut completely by deactivating the button above it or choose an app to replace the camera app. This way, the camera will not be opened from the lock screen again!
Depending on the Android phone you are using, the steps may vary slightly if the ability to modify lock screen shortcuts is available at all. For example, on LG phones, you can edit shortcuts by going to “Settings,” then “Lock Screen & Security,” and then “Customize Lock Screen.” From there, you can tap on “Shortcuts” and finally tap on the camera icon to set a different app as a shortcut.
If your Android device does not have the option to edit lock screen shortcuts but is running Android 12, you can disable and enable camera access from the quick settings panel. By disabling the camera, it will not open if you accidentally press the camera icon on the lock screen. When you need to take a photo or video, you can easily re-enable the camera by swiping down from the top edge of the screen (status bar) to reveal the full quick settings panel. Look for the “Camera Access” shortcut and press it to disable the camera. Now, the camera will not be accidentally opened again.
In the end, using any of the above methods, you will not be able to access the camera from the lock screen.
The last solution to prevent the camera from being accessed from the lock screen on your Android device is to block the camera app itself from using the camera! To do this, open “Settings,” then go to “Apps,” and search for the “Camera” app. Tap on it, then on the next screen, click on “App Permissions” and select the camera permission and choose the last option “Deny.” However, each time you need to take a photo or record a video through the camera app, you will need to re-enable the access permission by selecting the first option “Allow when using the app.” By using any of these methods, the camera will not be opened from the lock screen.
Hiding the Camera from the Lock Screen on iPhone
As of the writing of these lines, the iOS system does not have an option to customize lock screen shortcuts on the iPhone. If you swipe to the right or left on the lock screen, the camera will immediately open. The only solution to overcome this is to temporarily disable the camera app.
You can do this by opening “Settings,” then going to the “Screen Time” section and tapping on “Content & Privacy Restrictions.” Activate the option at the top and then click on “Allowed Apps” and deactivate the button next to the “Camera” app. Now, when you tap on the camera icon or swipe the lock screen, the camera app will not open.
