There's a quirk in the iPhone Camera app that can drive a security conscious iPhone owner crazy: if you hover your finger over the Camera app icon without actually opening the app, the camera starts operating. That causes the little green dot indicator on the iPhone to turn on and then after a few seconds disappear. This can easily make a security-conscious iPhone user worry that some app is nefariously using the camera.
Because hovering a finger on the Camera app icon is enough, it's easy to activate the green dot while swiping between screens or even just holding your phone. This was driving me nuts and I thought some app was using the camera when I didn't want it to.
I enabled Apple's App Privacy Report (under Privacy and Security) in Settings and, sure enough, it confirmed that the little green dot was happening because the camera was being used by the Camera app. Merely swiping while accidentally touching the Camera app's icon was enough to add an entry in the App Privacy Report.
The solution was moving Camera app away from where I was liable to brush it with my fingers or thumb. That reduced the errant green dots to almost zero and reassured me that nothing untoward was happening.
