Google Nest Hub Max

How to turn off or cover the camera on Google’s Nest Hub Max

Ben Schoon | Dec 9 2019 - 4:30 pm PT

google nest hub max smart display camera

Google’s Nest Hub Max is a fantastic smart display, but it’s understandable if you’re concerned about its camera. If you want to turn it off on the Nest Hub Max or cover it up physically, here’s how you can do that.

How to turn off the camera on Google Nest Hub Max

The first and easiest way to turn off the camera on the Google Nest Hub Max is to flip the switch on the back of the device. That switch mutes the microphone and cuts off the camera, which means the Max can’t see or hear you until you flip the switch back in the other direction.

But what about if you don’t want the camera on but still want to use voice commands? Luckily, there’s a software toggle to turn off just the camera. If you swipe up from the bottom of the screen on the Nest Hub Max, there’s a camera toggle button along the toolbar which, when pressed, shuts down the camera.

How to cover the Nest Hub Max camera

Still wary using just the software toggles to turn off your camera? If so, I wouldn’t entirely blame you. To that end, though, you can physically cover up the camera. You could, of course, use a piece of tape or putty, or even just a ripped-up Post-it note, but there are more elegant solutions.

Since there’s a healthy bezel on the Nest Hub Max, the same webcam covers often used on laptops fit perfectly. But you’ll probably want to get one that matches in white. Do keep in mind that, since webcams are much smaller, using a method like this will block a portion of what the camera can see. For Face Match and similar features, this is fine, but for Google Duo or using the built-in Nest Cam, a cover will definitely get in the way.