Your camera is being used by another application
This error means something else is holding your camera. Here is how to find what has it, including the background apps nobody thinks to check.
This error is almost never a hardware fault. The camera is working, something else has it open, and on most systems only one application can hold a camera at a time.
The usual suspects, in order
Work down this list. The first three account for most cases.
- Video call apps still running in the background. Zoom, Teams, Meet, Slack, Discord and Skype frequently keep running after you close the window. Look in your system tray on Windows or your menu bar on macOS and quit them properly rather than closing the window.
- Another browser tab. A tab you forgot about on a video call site holds the camera for as long as it is open. Browsers show a recording indicator on the tab, which makes these easy to spot once you look.
- Streaming and recording software. OBS, Streamlabs and similar tools claim the camera on launch and hold it whether or not you are streaming.
- Manufacturer utilities. Webcam software bundled with laptops and standalone cameras often runs at startup and opens the device for features like face login or presence detection.
- Security software. Several antivirus suites include webcam protection that holds or blocks the device. The error it produces is indistinguishable from another app using the camera.
Finding the culprit when nothing obvious is open
An application that crashed without releasing the camera holds it until the process ends, and it will not have a window to close.
On Windows, open Task Manager, look at the Details tab, and end any process you recognise as a video or conferencing app. Windows also has a privacy setting page for the camera that lists recent camera use by application, which points at the offender directly.
On macOS, open Activity Monitor and quit anything conferencing related. macOS shows a green dot near the menu bar whenever the camera is active, and clicking Control Centre tells you which app is using it.
If you find nothing, restart the browser first, since that is quicker than a full reboot and releases anything the browser itself was holding. A reboot clears it unconditionally.
Ruling out the camera itself
Open the webcam test. If your picture appears, the camera is free and functioning, and the problem is in the application that was complaining. That usually means the app is pointed at the wrong device, or it needs its own operating system permission.
If the test shows the same error, something genuinely is holding the device and the list above applies.
Preventing it
The durable fix is to stop the offending application launching at startup. Teams, Discord and manufacturer webcam utilities are the usual ones, and none of them need to run before you actually want them.
Worth knowing: a privacy shutter produces a different symptom. If an app opens the camera successfully but shows a black picture, that is a closed shutter rather than a conflict.
Common questions
Why can only one app use my camera at a time?
On Windows and macOS, camera access is generally exclusive: the first application to open the device holds it until it releases it. Some newer cameras and drivers support sharing, but you cannot rely on it. Linux behaves differently depending on the driver.
I closed everything and it still says this.
An application that crashed without releasing the device leaves it locked until the process ends. Check your task manager or activity monitor for the app still running with no window, and end it. Failing that, restarting the machine always clears it.
Could my antivirus be blocking the camera?
Yes. Several security suites include webcam protection that blocks or holds camera access, and the resulting error looks identical to another app using it. Check your security software's privacy or webcam section before assuming a hardware fault.
This happens every time I start a call.
Something is grabbing the camera at startup. Look at what launches with your system, since Teams, Discord and some manufacturer utilities open the camera on launch and never release it. Removing them from startup usually fixes it permanently.