The camera automatically turns on when you open an app that can take pictures, record videos, or make video calls.

You can decide which apps are allowed to use the camera on your Mac.

Turn the camera on: On your Mac, open an app that can use the camera, such as FaceTime, Messages, or Photo Booth.

A green light beside the camera glows to indicate that the camera is on.

Turn the camera off: On your Mac, close or quit all apps that can use the camera.

The green light beside the camera turns off, showing that the camera is off.

To learn more about using your camera with the apps mentioned, see FaceTime User Guide, Messages User Guide, and Photo Booth User Guide.

The Kinect camera can see in the dark which makes it perfect for baby monitoring.

Use your iPhone or Android device as a hidden spy cam with these apps.

Brad Stephenson is a freelance tech and geek culture writer with 12 years experience.

Its natural to consider installing hidden security cameras in your home, especially if you live in an area with a high crime rate.

With the advent of camera-enabled smartphones, tablets, and computers though there are now a variety of ways to turn your old devices into fully-functional hidden spy cams simply by installing a free or paid app.

Here are six high quality secret camera apps for creating your own cheap security camera in a matter of minutes.

All you need is an iOS or Android device, a Windows computer, or even an Xbox One video game console.

The AtHome Camera Surveillance App can transform any old iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad into a hidden security camera as long as its running iOS 7 and above.

What sets it apart though is its facial recognition technology that will begin recording video when it sees a person.

When this happens, not only will the app record what the person is doing but it will also generate an animated gif of the individual and send it to you via a notification.

All recorded footage can be viewed on another iOS device or on a computer and recordings can be automatically saved to an online cloud account as part of a monthly subscription service.

Video streaming is encrypted which makes it harder for others to view your footage.

Manything is a free Android spy cam app that lets you turn any device running Android 4.2 and up into a security camera.

One particularly useful feature is the ability to talk through the device working as the camera.

This could not only be used to startle intruders but can also work as a way to talk to pets while youre out of the house or even to turn the device into a baby cam.

Clips can be downloaded and shared with other people easily.

Youll also need to pay the monthly subscription fee to use more than one device as a hidden camera.

SecurityCam is an incredibly streamlined hidden camera app designed for Windows computers running Windows 8 and up.

This app turns your Windows computer or tablet into a security camera that begins recording video with its webcam as soon as motion is detected.

All recorded footage is saved directly to the app for on-demand viewing along with date and time stamps.

Runs on Windows 8 and 8.1 devices in addition to Windows 10.

Viewer for Baby Monitor for Kinect is a rather ingenious app that lets you use the Xbox Ones Kinect sensor as a security camera or baby monitor.

One version of the app is installed on the Xbox One console to let it record video while the other is downloaded onto your Windows 10 device to view the video stream from elsewhere in the house.

Cam Monitor App For Mac