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New level of stalking: Skype keeps recording me after finishing the call

16 points by IvanK_net ↗ HN
I have updated Skype to the latest version and videocalled my friend. After finishing the call, the webcam LED light remains on.

After I quit Skype (right button - Quit Skype), Skype icon disappears, but LED keeps lighting for about 1 minute. I can see Skype.exe process is still working during that time.

I did the same thing it twice with the same results. I quit the Skype and don't know what to do :( Everything worked fine in previous versions. Does anybody have the same behavior?

12 comments

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dyml
Does anyone have more information on what is going on?
IvanK_net
I have noticed it right now, so I posted it, expecting, that somebody will examine it a little deeper. It may be a bug, but it may also be an unsuccessful (not properly hidden) attempt of Microsoft to gather some data about you.
davegardner
Why didn't _you_ examine it more deeply before you posted wild conjectures about what was happening? Surely you could try it on another machine - or ask a friend or two to test it.
yureka
Not reproducible on my main machine with the following OS and specs: 1GHz Pentium 3 Windows 2000 512MB RAM 32GB SSD

Hoax report? I'm beginning to think so... Please advise.

freehunter
I just finished a Skype video call last night around 10pm and the light went off immediately after I ended the call. Perhaps it's your hardware/drivers.

Does HN allow original research/idle speculation in text submissions without any evidence backing it up?

IvanK_net
Have you done it wit the latest version of Skype?
mahouse
What if it's, you know, a bug
SnaKeZ
I don't trust Skype but I think this post is a hoax
GilbertErik
Did you ever consider that it's most likely a bug between Skype and your webcam driver?

Here's my thinking. Even if Skype _did_ want to continue recording you after you quit the application, I'd imagine that they'd have the software and hardware know how to turn off the LED on your webcam.

davegardner
Not reproducible for me either. Have you seen it happening on more than one machine?