Your browser will ask permission. The video is shown only to you. Nothing is recorded, and nothing is uploaded.
What your camera reports
- Resolution
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- Frame rate
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- Aspect
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- Camera
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Snapshot
Checking your microphone as well before a call? The Mic Test does the same job for audio, just as privately.
The stream is painted straight into the page and never leaves your device. No server, no recording, no account, and it works offline.
The readout shows the resolution, frame rate, and aspect ratio you are getting right now, rather than the maximum printed on the box. That live figure is what your video calls will use.
A laptop with an external webcam often defaults to the built-in one. Pick each camera from the dropdown to see which is which, including any virtual cameras from streaming software.
Webcam not working? Work through this
If you cannot see yourself above, it is nearly always one of five things, in this order:
- Permission. If you dismissed or blocked the prompt, the browser will not ask again. Click the camera or lock icon in the address bar, set the camera to Allow, and reload the page.
- The wrong camera. Use the Camera dropdown above. A laptop with an external webcam plugged in often defaults to the built-in one, or the other way round. Virtual cameras from streaming software appear in this list too.
- The privacy shutter. If the preview is black but there is no error message, check for a physical sliding cover or lens cap. Many laptops and most external webcams have one, and it is the single most common cause.
- Another app has it. A video call, recorder, or streaming tool may be holding the camera exclusively. Quit it fully, not just the window, and try again.
- System privacy settings. Windows and macOS both have a camera privacy switch that can block your browser entirely, and no website can override it. Check that your browser is allowed there.
What the numbers mean
The panel beside the preview reports what your camera is actually sending, not what the packaging promises. Cameras negotiate a format with the browser, so a "4K" webcam in a dim room may quietly settle on something smaller or slower.
| Resolution | Name | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 640 × 480 | 480p (VGA) | Old or very cheap cameras; noticeably soft on a modern screen |
| 1280 × 720 | 720p (HD) | The practical baseline, perfectly good for any video call |
| 1920 × 1080 | 1080p (Full HD) | Plenty for calls and streaming; the sweet spot for most people |
| 2560 × 1440 | 1440p (QHD) | Streaming and recording where you may crop in later |
| 3840 × 2160 | 4K UHD | Recording and heavy cropping; overkill for calls, and costly on CPU |
Frame rate matters more than resolution
30fps looks natural. Below roughly 20fps, motion starts to stutter and you look like you are buffering. Here is the part that surprises people: if your frame rate is low, the culprit is usually light, not the camera. In a dim room the sensor holds its shutter open longer to gather light, and the frame rate falls to match. Adding light often fixes a "slow camera" instantly.
Aspect ratio
Most webcams are 16:9, matching what calling apps expect. Some older ones are 4:3, which apps handle by adding bars or cropping the sides. If the readout says 4:3 and your calls look cropped, that is why.
Three fixes that beat buying a new webcam
Light your face, not your back. A window behind you turns you into a silhouette. Move so the light is in front of you, and a cheap camera suddenly looks respectable.
Clean the lens. It is a tiny piece of glass that lives at fingertip height. A smudge costs more sharpness than any spec upgrade will buy back.
Raise the camera to eye level. A laptop on a desk shoots up your nose. Books under the laptop cost nothing and improve the picture more than megapixels do.
Frequently asked questions
How do I test my webcam?
Click Start camera and allow access when your browser asks. If you can see yourself, your webcam works. The panel beside the preview reports the resolution, frame rate, and aspect ratio your camera is actually delivering, which is what a video call will use. Nothing is recorded or uploaded at any point.
Is my video recorded or uploaded?
No. The camera stream is displayed directly in the page and never leaves your device. There is no server involved and no recording is made. If you take a snapshot it is drawn in your browser and only saved if you choose to download it. Closing the tab releases the camera and discards everything.
Why is my webcam not working?
Work through it in order. First, permission: if you blocked access, click the camera or lock icon in the address bar, allow the camera, then reload. Second, the device: use the dropdown here to pick the right camera, since laptops with an external webcam often default to the wrong one. Third, the privacy shutter: many laptops have a physical slider or a lens cover, and a black preview with no error usually means it is closed. Fourth, another app: video calls hold the camera exclusively, so quit them fully and try again. Finally, check your operating system's camera privacy settings, which can block the browser entirely.
Why is my webcam picture green, black, or frozen?
A black picture with no error almost always means a closed privacy shutter or another app holding the camera. A green or purple image, or one that freezes, usually points to a driver or USB bandwidth problem: try a different USB port, avoid unpowered hubs, and update the camera driver. If the preview works here but fails in one particular app, the fault is that app's, not your camera's.
What resolution and frame rate should my webcam be?
For video calls, 720p at 30fps is perfectly good and 1080p at 30fps is plenty. Higher is rarely better in practice: most calling apps compress the picture far below your camera's maximum anyway, and a higher resolution costs bandwidth and CPU. Frame rate matters more than resolution for looking natural: 30fps is smooth, while anything below about 20fps looks stuttery. If your frame rate is low, blame the light before the camera.
Why does my webcam look bad even at 1080p?
Almost always lighting, not resolution. Webcam sensors are tiny, so in dim rooms they raise gain, which adds noise, and drop the frame rate to compensate, which adds stutter. Put a soft light in front of your face rather than behind you. Sitting with a window at your back turns you into a silhouette that no amount of megapixels can fix. Cleaning the lens is the other free improvement people forget.