Quick Answer: The best webcam cover for most people is CloudValley’s ultra-thin metal slide (around $7–$9 for a multi-pack) — a 0.6mm slider that covers the camera in one motion and stays out of the way when open. It’s thin enough for most laptops, but not thin enough for Apple’s own safety guidance: Apple says a MacBook camera cover should be no thicker than 0.1mm — about the thickness of a sheet of printer paper — or it risks cracking the screen when the lid closes. On any MacBook, slide the cover open before you close the lid.
A webcam cover is one of the cheapest fixes on this entire site, and also one of the easiest to get wrong — not because it fails to block the camera, but because a cover that’s too thick can crack a laptop screen that closes on it. Here’s what’s actually worth sticking on, and which laptops need a lighter touch.
Webcam covers, by the numbers
- Apple’s own support documentation caps a safe MacBook camera cover at roughly 0.1mm — about the thickness of a sheet of printer paper — warning that anything thicker risks cracking the display when the lid closes, since the clearance between screen and keyboard is built to very tight tolerances.
- CloudValley’s metal slide cover measures 0.6mm, per its own product listing — about six times Apple’s stated safe thickness, meaning it should be slid open (not left covering the lens) before closing a MacBook lid.
Our top webcam covers at a glance
| Cover | Best for | Thickness | Mechanism | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CloudValley Metal Slide | Best overall | 0.6mm | Sliding metal door | ~$7–$9 | ★★★★★ |
| TENOC 5-Pack | Best multi-device bundle | ~0.7mm | Sliding door | ~$8–$10 | ★★★★☆ |
| Yilador T1 (3-Pack) | Best budget | ~0.026in (0.66mm) | Sliding door | ~$6–$8 | ★★★★☆ |
| JOS California Slide | Best low-profile | Ultra-thin (multiple sizes) | Sliding door | ~$8–$12 | ★★★★☆ |
| Blocked Vinyl Sticker | Best restickable | Thin vinyl | Peel-and-stick flap | ~$10–$14 | ★★★★☆ |
1. CloudValley Metal Slide — Best Overall
CloudValley Webcam Cover Slide
- 0.6mm ultra-thin metal body slides open and shut in one motion — no removing or reapplying a sticker every time you need the camera.
- 3M adhesive backing designed to hold on a clean, finished laptop or monitor surface without residue on removal.
- Fits laptop, monitor, and tablet cameras alike; sold in multi-packs of black or white.
Setting up webcam covers across a shared office? A free Amazon Business account unlocks quantity discounts and tax-exempt purchasing, which adds up fast when you’re covering a whole floor of laptops instead of just one desk.
CloudValley wins the default slot because the sliding-door mechanism means you’re not peeling and re-sticking anything — slide it shut when you’re off a call, slide it open when you’re on one. The catch, and it applies to every metal slide cover on this list, not just CloudValley: at 0.6mm it’s noticeably thicker than the 0.1mm Apple says is safe to close a MacBook lid over, so treat it as open-before-you-close on any Mac laptop rather than leaving it shut permanently.
2. TENOC 5-Pack — Best Multi-Device Bundle
TENOC Webcam Cover, 5-Pack
- Five sliding covers per pack, enough for a laptop, a monitor webcam, a tablet, and a couple of spares without reordering.
- Same sliding-door mechanism as CloudValley, sold in multiple color and pattern finishes.
- Priced per-cover lower than most single or 2-packs once split across a household or small office.
If one laptop isn’t the only camera that needs covering — a desktop monitor with a built-in webcam, a tablet that sits on a stand, a second household laptop — TENOC’s 5-pack covers all of them for close to what a single 2-pack from a pricier brand costs. The mechanism and thickness are close enough to CloudValley’s that the same MacBook-lid caution applies.
3. Yilador T1 (3-Pack) — Best Budget
Yilador T1 Laptop Camera Cover, 3-Pack
- 0.026in (about 0.66mm) slide cover — among the thinnest sliding designs available, though still over Apple's stated MacBook-safe threshold.
- Three-pack at the lowest per-unit price of the covers here, aimed at outfitting multiple devices cheaply.
- Basic black finish only; no colored or patterned variants.
The Yilador T1 is the pick when the goal is just “block the camera for a few dollars” and nothing more — no bundle of colors, no brand extras, just the thinnest sliding cover in this lineup at close to the lowest price. It still isn’t within Apple’s 0.1mm MacBook guidance, so the same open-before-closing habit applies here too.
4. JOS California Slide — Best Low-Profile
JOS California Webcam Cover Slide
- Sold in multiple sizes, letting it fit narrower camera bezels than some one-size covers manage.
- Low-profile sliding design intended to sit flush against thin laptop lids and monitor bezels.
- Matte finish options blend into a laptop lid better than a glossy metal slide.
JOS California’s size options matter more than they sound — a cover sized for a wide laptop bezel can overhang a narrower one or a monitor’s built-in camera, which either looks sloppy or doesn’t fully clear the lens when closed. Picking a size that matches the camera housing rather than defaulting to the biggest option is the main reason to choose this over a one-size-fits-all slide.
5. Blocked Vinyl Sticker — Best Restickable
Blocked Vinyl Webcam Cover Sticker
- Peel-and-stick vinyl flap instead of a rigid sliding door — thinner profile than most metal slides.
- Designed to be restickable and repositionable, so it can move between a laptop, a second monitor, or a new device without buying another pack.
- No moving mechanical parts to wear out or stick over years of daily sliding.
Blocked trades the satisfying slide-click of a metal cover for a thinner vinyl flap that peels back instead of sliding sideways — a real advantage on a laptop where every fraction of a millimeter under the lid matters, and the only cover here explicitly built to be pulled off and reused on a different device rather than staying put for good.
Metal slide, or vinyl sticker — how to choose
- On a MacBook or any laptop with a tight lid clearance? Treat every metal slide cover here as open-before-closing, not leave-it-shut — none of them meet Apple’s stated 0.1mm safe thickness.
- Covering more than one device? A 5-pack like TENOC’s or a multi-size option like JOS California spreads the cost further than a single premium cover.
- Want to move the cover between devices later? Blocked’s restickable vinyl is built for that; the metal slides are meant to stay put once applied.
- Just want the cheapest option that works? Yilador’s 3-pack does the basic job at the lowest per-unit price here.
A webcam cover only solves the visual half of camera privacy. If the actual worry is a laptop’s built-in camera getting hijacked by software rather than someone glancing at an open lens, pairing a cover with your OS’s camera-permission settings covers both angles at once. And if you’re shopping for a new camera rather than covering the one you have, our best webcam for video calls guide covers a couple of models — the Logitech Brio 500 and Brio 100 — that ship with a built-in privacy shutter instead of needing an add-on cover. Either way, a cleaner desk setup starts with a proper desk organizer to keep small accessories like this from getting lost in a drawer, and a monitor arm if the camera in question sits on a display rather than a laptop lid.
The bottom line
CloudValley’s metal slide cover is the best webcam cover for most people in 2026 — thin, one-motion sliding, and priced low enough to buy for every device in the house. Go with TENOC’s 5-pack if you’re covering more than one camera, or Blocked’s vinyl sticker if you want something you can move between devices later. On any MacBook, remember Apple’s own guidance: slide the cover open before closing the lid, since none of these covers meet the 0.1mm thickness Apple considers safe to close over.