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Original: Simon Willison · 16/03/2026

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Summary

Guilherme Rambo discusses the security of the software-based camera indicator light in the MacBook Neo, emphasizing its protection against kernel-level exploits.

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Key Insights

“the software-based camera indicator light in the MacBook Neo runs in the secure exclave part of the chip” — Guilherme Rambo explaining the security features of the MacBook Neo’s camera indicator.
“even a kernel-level exploit would not be able to turn on the camera without the light appearing on screen” — Rambo highlighting the security measures in place to protect user privacy.

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Topics

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Full Article

16th March 2026 Tidbit: the software-based camera indicator light in the MacBook Neo runs in the secure exclave¹ part of the chip, so it is almost as secure as the hardware indicator light. What that means in practice is that even a kernel-level exploit would not be able to turn on the camera without the light appearing on screen. It runs in a privileged environment separate from the kernel and blits the light directly onto the screen hardware. — Guilherme Rambo, in a text message to John Gruber

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Originally published at https://simonwillison.net/2026/Mar/16/guilherme-rambo/#atom-everything.