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How is that even comparable? A Laptop's camera is always pointing at you or your room. A phone's camera is mostly in your pockets or pointing at the ceiling.

or pointing at you on the toilet

How often is the phone on, and when it is, not pointed at you or your immediate surroundings?

We’ve had plenty of app developers manipulate the microphone without permission until Apple cracked down on it. With the latest versions of macOS, Apple has done the same. But it seems to me if people are wary of their computer, maybe they shouldn’t forget about the other computer they’re probably looking at way more often.

To be fair, phones are pretty locked down. An iPhone is probably the most secure computer that is easily available to (and able to be kept secure by) ordinary consumers.

I’d argue the Mac is nearly as locked down too, at least as far as the permissions that apps have and are granted, for things like the mic and camera.

I have a phone with a pop-up front facing camera and it's great. Sad to see it going away in favor of in-display cameras and notches.