How to Disable a Virtual Camera in Windows

The short answer

A virtual camera is a software-made video source that Windows and your apps list alongside a real webcam. Apps such as streaming tools, webcam utilities and phone-as-webcam features create them. To get rid of one, stop it in the app that created it. If it is still listed, disable it in Windows Settings or Device Manager. To remove it for good, uninstall the program that installed it. If you only want your call app to stop using it, just pick your physical webcam in that app's video settings.

First decide what you mean by "disable":

• Stop using it in one call: choose your real webcam in the meeting app's camera menu. Nothing in Windows changes.
• Turn it off for now: stop the virtual camera in its source app, or disable the device in Windows. You can turn it back on later.
• Remove it completely: uninstall the software that created it.
• Turn off background blur or other effects: this is often a camera effect setting, not a separate virtual camera. See the section on effects below.

Step 1: Find out where the virtual camera comes from

Open the camera list in your call app or in Windows Settings and read the device names. A virtual camera is usually named after the program that made it, for example with "Virtual," a streaming app name, or a phone or webcam-utility brand in the label. That name tells you which app to deal with. This guide uses no tested data on specific products, and menu wording differs between apps and versions. If a label below doesn't match what you see, look for a similar option.

Step 2: Stop it in the app that created it

Open the program behind the virtual camera and look for a control such as "Stop Virtual Camera," a camera output toggle, or a setting that starts the virtual camera with Windows. Turn it off. Then fully quit the app, including any icon in the notification area near the clock. Some apps also start at sign-in. You can stop that in Settings > Apps > Startup, or in Task Manager on the Startup apps tab.

Be aware that some virtual camera drivers stay registered after the app closes. In that case the camera may still appear in device lists, often showing a blank or placeholder image. If that bothers you, continue to Step 3 or Step 5.

Step 3: Disable it in Windows Settings (Windows 11)

• Open Settings and go to Bluetooth & devices > Cameras.
• Under connected cameras, select the virtual camera by name. Be careful not to pick your real webcam.
• Choose Disable and confirm.
• To undo this later, return to the same page and enable it again.

If the virtual camera isn't on this page, it may be a software component that Windows doesn't treat as a standard camera device. Try Device Manager, or go straight to uninstalling the source app.

Step 4: Disable it in Device Manager (Windows 10 and 11)

• Right-click the Start button and choose Device Manager.
• Expand Cameras, Imaging devices, and Sound, video and game controllers. Virtual cameras can appear under any of these.
• Right-click the virtual camera entry and choose Disable device. Don't choose Uninstall device unless you mean to remove the driver.
• Confirm. You may need administrator rights.

If you prefer PowerShell, you can list camera-type devices and disable one by its instance ID. Open PowerShell as administrator. Run the first line, copy the InstanceId of the virtual camera from the results, and paste it into the second line.

Get-PnpDevice -Class Camera, Image | Format-Table FriendlyName, Status, InstanceId -AutoSize

Disable-PnpDevice -InstanceId "PASTE-INSTANCE-ID-HERE" -Confirm

Some virtual cameras are installed as software video sources rather than hardware-style devices. Those won't appear in Device Manager or in these PowerShell results. For them, uninstalling the source app is the reliable way to remove them.

Step 5: Uninstall the software to remove it permanently

Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps (on Windows 10, Settings > Apps > Apps & features). Find the program that created the virtual camera and uninstall it. Some suites list the virtual camera or its driver as a separate entry, so check for that too. Restart the PC afterward so apps stop seeing the removed device. Only remove software you're sure you don't need, since the same program may provide other features you use.

If your phone shows up as a camera

Windows 11 can use a linked phone as a webcam. If your phone appears in camera lists and you don't want it to, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices and look at the Mobile devices section. Turn off the option that lets the PC use the phone, or remove the phone. Third-party phone-webcam apps work the same way as other virtual camera software: stop or uninstall them on the PC.

Background blur and effects are a different setting

Blur, background replacement, eye-contact correction and auto-framing may come from your call app, your webcam's own software, or Windows camera effects on supported PCs. These change the picture from your real camera. They are not always a separate virtual camera. Turn them off in the call app's background or effects menu. For Windows-level effects, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras, select your webcam, and switch off the effects there, or use the camera effects controls in Quick Settings if your PC shows them. These effects are also separate from a physical backdrop or a photo background edited later.

What camera privacy settings do and don't do

Settings > Privacy & security > Camera controls which apps may use cameras at all. Turning access off for an app blocks it from every camera, real and virtual. It doesn't remove the virtual camera or affect other apps. Use it to limit an app's access, not as a way to delete a virtual device.

Check the result

• Restart the PC, or at least fully close and reopen your call app.
• Open the Windows Camera app and use its switch-camera button. Only the cameras you want should appear.
• In your call app's video settings, confirm the virtual camera is gone or no longer selected, and that your real webcam is chosen.
• Start a test call or preview. A camera appearing in the list only shows that the app can access it. A live preview confirms video is actually being captured, and image quality is a separate question.

If it keeps coming back

• The source app is still starting at sign-in, or an update reinstalled its driver. Check Startup apps, then disable or uninstall again.
• You disabled the wrong entry. Re-enable your real webcam from the same screen you used.
• On a work or school PC, an administrator may manage camera settings and installed software, and you may not be allowed to change them. Ask your IT team.
• If none of the steps above shows the virtual camera, note its exact name as it appears in your call app. That name is what you'll need to identify the software or ask for help.