Keep It Secret, Keep It Safe: The Best Privacy-Minded Gifts for Your Paranoid Pals - Give Privacy, Give a Mic-Lock!
Laptops and smartphones have microphones built in, and hackers have devised methods to turn those mics into eavesdropping snoops. If your device is compromised, a hacker could remotely activate the mic and listen to everything going on around you, including secret conversations. It’s enough to make you paranoid!
Fortunately, there’s a simple solution. Most of these devices have a headphone jack to plug in an external headset. When you plug in that headset, the in-device mic and speakers shut down, naturally. That’s where the Mic-Lock Microphone Blocker comes in. Plugging it in disables the in-device mic, but it doesn’t act as a microphone itself. There’s also a version that plugs into the Lightning port on iPhones, and one for USB C connections. For a few dollars more, you can get a version that disables the mic but still lets you play music through the speakers.