How to Enable or Disable Use of Camera App on Windows 8.1 Lock Screen?

Windows 8.1 comes with many new features and improvements such as direct boot to Desktop, ability to disable hot corners, more customization options for Start Screen, new metro apps, new touch gestures and much more.

Along with the above mentioned changes and feature, Windows 8.1 also comes with many improvements for Lock Screen such as ability to set images slide show as Lock Screen background.

Today in this topic, we are going to share yet another interesting and new feature of Lock Screen introduced in Windows 8.1. Microsoft has added a new option in Windows 8.1 to access Camera app directly from Lock Screen without log into your user account.

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If you enable this option, you can use your laptop, tablet or PC Camera to take photos or create videos without sign into Windows. You just need to swipe down (on touch enabled devices) or click and drag the Lock Screen background image to bottom (on laptops and Desktops) to launch Camera app. Its a nice addition to Windows 8.1.

Webcam_Access_Windows_8_1_Lock_Screen.png

If you want to enable access to Camera app on Windows 8.1 Lock Screen, check out following simple steps:

1. Move your mouse cursor to top-right or bottom-right corner of screen to access Charms Bar and click on Settings option.

2. Now click on “Change PC settings” option given at the bottom.

3. It’ll open Metro Control Panel or PC Settings page. Click on “Lock Screen” thumbnail present in “Top settings” section. You can also open it by going to “PC & devices -> Lock screen“.

4. Now scroll down to bottom and you’ll see “Camera” section containing following text information:

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You can swipe down on the lock screen to use the camera while your PC is locked.

An option “Use camera from the lock screen” is given which is set to “Off” by default which means Camera access is restricted on Lock Screen and you can’t use it on Lock Screen.

Enable_Webcam_Windows_8_1_Lock_Screen.png

If you want to enable use of Camera on Lock Screen, set the option to “On“.

If the option is already set to “On” and if you want to restrict Camera access on Lock Screen, set it to “Off“.

5. That’s it. Now whenever you are on Lock Screen, swipe down or click and drag the Lock Screen background to bottom and you’ll be able to use Camera app.

Some Important Information about Use of Camera App on Lock Screen

You can take a photo or create videos using the Camera app on Lock Screen. Two buttons are given in right-side to take photo or create video using your PC camera.

The Camera app also allows you to adjust “Exposure” and set automatic timer of 3 seconds or 10 seconds.

Once you take a photo or create a video, you can check it or delete it by clicking on “Camera roll” option given at the bottom panel.

You might be wondering where are all these images and video clips stored on your hard drive? All these items are stored in “Pictures -> Camera Roll” folder of your user account which also contains screenshots taken using “Win+PrtScn” hotkey as mentioned here.

Published in: Windows 8

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. i uninstalled windows 8.1 yesterday and installed windows 7. 8.1 was to unstable, windows explorer kept crashing. on a side note i noticed an update bug. when you update windows 7 if you hide the bing update for 1.3 ,then check for updates again. Update will ask if you want to install bing 1.2. MS is really pushing bing.

  2. this feature may be useful for touch optimised devices. but, for a PC, (me, as a programmer) this is quite annoying. btw, nice efforts Microsoft.

  3. I don’t have W8 and the more I read about it I really do not want it. It’s another exponential step toward awful, each successive OS release from MS since XP has gotten progressively worse.

    MS has strayed from using computers as useful and effective tools and has turned them into adolescent toys. What’s more is, every step toward turning computers into toys adds thousands of lines of new code, full of bugs and security holes. Those of us who still use computers for basic computing are forced to put up with the constant barrage of up dates to correct the security and bug faults in addition to the already bulging security measures from other superfluous code that eats up RAM and ROM and limits file access, not just to potential hackers, but also to users. The worst part of it is that most of it applies to the adolescent junk functions that a ‘basic computer user’, doesn’t even use.

  4. the swipe down on lock screen for camera does not always work, its on again off again obviously there is something buggy here and MS needs to address and fix it!!

  5. I made the mistake of upgrading to 8.1 from 8 on a Toshiba C class laptop. Now the in built camera will not work correctly with Skype. It works with the camera app, it works with Google ‘Hangouts’, but it will not allow me to see my own image when using Skype, therefore I have no idea what people at the other end are seeing. Yes they can see me, I can’t see them. What a total nonsense windows is becoming. Come back Bill all is forgiven.

  6. @Damien Aked
    It’s your own fault for not doing your research about which drivers are compatible with Windows 8.1. Have you tried visiting Toshiba’s support page? Most laptop manufacturers have featured an advisory (because Microsoft asked them to do so) regarding on which drivers should be updated when upgrading to 8.1.

  7. Thank you!!! My camera was on by default and there’s a whole folder full of confused pictures of my face as I try to unlock the computer.

  8. @ Allsop1

    I hate BING. It is nowhere near as good as multimap used to be for maps and no better than others for home page. Whoever invented it?

  9. my camera isnt working… it keeps coming up with
    “your camera is being used with another app, please close this app and try again”
    HELP!! ✋

  10. i am not able to use my camera on windows 8.1 in acer aspire S7 191,
    Please let me know what should i do to have the access to camera, it gives message (To get started, connect a camera.)

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