How to Stop Device Census from using Webcam in Windows 10

If the question “what is Device Census and why is it using my webcam” has been bugging you then learn how to stop Device Census from using webcam in Windows 10.

Anyone is ought to be a little worried when they receive a prompt on their screens that an application is using the webcam or is requesting webcam access. The first instinct of any person would be to assume that it is a malware or a virus that is requesting access.

If you have Kaspersky Antivirus software installed on your computer, you may get prompts like Device Census is using the webcam.

device census is using webcam

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So in this guide, we will see what is Device Census and how to stop device census from using webcam in Windows 10 PC.

What is Device Census and Why is it using My Webcam?

A very natural question which may arise in your mind is – What is device census on Windows 10 computer and what does it do?

Before explaining anything, we would like to clear first of all that DeviceCensus.exe (Device Census) is a legit Microsoft executable process present in Windows 10 computers. So, you shouldn’t be worried.

Device Census (background process) is a part of the Windows package which comes preinstalled with every copy of Windows 10. The process is developed by Microsoft to collect and report about the hardware used in systems and any errors which may occur and one of those components is your webcam. This report is used to improve the overall performance of Windows.

The telemetry process isn’t easy to find on your system since it doesn’t have an easily navigatable icon you can click to open, however, the service is officially signed by Microsoft so it is completely safe to use.

How to Stop Device Census from using Webcam in Windows 10

In case, if you are feeling annoyed by seeing the frequent prompt which says “Device Census is using the webcam” and you want to get rid of it then you can easily block Device Census access to your webcam.

Follow these below-mentioned methods and learn how to stop device census from using webcam in Windows 10 operating system:

Method 1:  Prevent Device Census from Accessing the Camera in Windows 10

Window 10 allows you to natively block any app which may be using any hardware component without your permission. To block device census access to your webcam, follow these steps:

Step (1): First of all, press Windows + I keys together to open the Settings and then click on the Privacy option.

Step (2): On the Privacy settings, click on Camera option which is under the App permissions.

Step (3): If you don’t use the webcam at all, you can disable access of camera to all apps. To do this, simply turn Off the Allow Apps to Access your Camera option.

device census

Step (4): And if you wish to stop only Device Census from using webcam then scroll down to Choose Which Apps can access your Camera section and turn Off the Feedback Hub option.

device census webcam

Once you turned off the camera access for the Feedback Hub app in Windows 10, the Device Census will stop asking for the webcam access.

Method 2: Block Device Census Webcam Access via Kaspersky

If you are a user of Kaspersky Antivirus Protection or Kaspersky Internet Security Software then you can easily block device census access to your webcam from the software itself.

Here’s how to stop Device Census from using webcam in Windows 10 using Kaspersky:

Step (1): At first, open Kaspersky Internet Security software and then click on the Settings icon.

Step (2): On the Settings, go to the Protection section and then select Application Control option.

Step (3): Next, on the Application Control Settings window, click on the Manage applications link.

device census kaspersky

Step (4): Now on the Manage applications window, search for the Device Census from the search bar and then double click on it.

Step (5): On the Device Census window, go to the Rights tab and click on the Access Webcam option then select Deny option.

device census asking for webcam access

Step (5): Finally, click on the Save button to save the changes.

Once you set the webcam access as Deny in Kaspersky anti-virus software, it will block device census access to your webcam.

Conclusion

We would like to clarify once again that the service Device Census is completely safe and should not be tampered with. However, if you do wish to block device census access to your webcam in Windows 10 PC, we hope our guide helped you achieve that.

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