Someone is holding an iPhone up, or it is lying on a table pointing your way, and you are not sure whether it is recording. iPhone does give you signals — some you can check from across a room, some only on the phone itself.
The green dot
Whenever an app is using the camera, iOS shows a green dot at the top of the screen. It appears for any app — the Camera app, a video call, a recording app — and no app can remove it. It has been part of iOS since iOS 14.
What it tells you: the camera is on right now. What it does not tell you: whether the video is being saved, sent or only shown on screen.
The orange dot
An orange dot in the same place means the microphone is in use without the camera — a voice recording, a phone call, dictation. Apps cannot remove it either.
Which app is using them
On the phone itself, open Control Centre. At the top, iOS names the app that is using, or recently used, the camera or microphone. For a history, Settings → Privacy & Security → App Privacy Report lists which apps accessed the camera and microphone, and when, once the report has been turned on.
Screen recording looks different
Recording the screen is a separate feature. It shows a red indicator at the top of the screen for as long as it runs, and it captures what is on the display, not what the camera sees.
What apps have to show
App Store Guideline 2.5.14 requires apps to ask for permission and to give a clear visual or audible indication whenever they record. A recording app on the App Store should show something of its own while it records — a dot, a timer, the word REC — in addition to the green dot iOS adds.
What spy camera and hidden camera apps on iPhone can’t turn off
Some apps advertise themselves as spy cameras, hidden cameras or secret video recorders. On iPhone, none of them can switch off the green dot, because it belongs to the system, not to the app. What such an app can do is dim its own screen, or show something other than a viewfinder — and the green dot still appears while the camera runs.
So the practical checks are the same whatever an app calls itself:
- Look at the top of the screen. A green dot means the camera is on.
- Don’t read a black screen as “off”. Apps that record with the screen dark — so they won’t light up a room — still trigger the green dot, and should keep their own REC mark on screen.
- Check which way the camera faces. A phone lying screen-up on a table has its rear camera pointing at the table.
What the indicators can’t tell you
The indicators are on the phone, so they help when you can see the phone. They say nothing about cameras that are not phones — doorbells, dashcams, body cameras, dedicated recorders. And a green dot means the camera is on, not that anyone means harm: most of the time it is a video call or a photo.
If you think you are being recorded without agreeing
Ask. Most people will show you, or stop. At a venue, a workplace or a school, tell the staff; they usually have rules. Whether recording someone without consent is legal depends on where you are and on whether sound is recorded — some places require everyone’s agreement.
A recording app that keeps its indicator on
NoLight is the recording app I built, and it is designed the other way round. The screen goes dark so it won’t light up the room, but a dot and the word REC stay on the dark screen and cannot be turned off, and iOS’s green dot shows throughout. It never records in the background or while the phone is locked.
Short answers
Can an iPhone record video without the green dot? No. The green dot appears whenever any app uses the camera.
Can a spy camera app on iPhone hide the green dot? No. The dot is drawn by iOS, not by the app.
Is there a secret video recorder for iPhone with no indicator? Not one that can remove the green dot, and App Store apps are required to show that they are recording.
Does a black screen mean the phone is not recording? No. Look for the green dot and a REC mark.
What does the orange dot mean? The microphone is in use.