If your phone’s front camera has a red blinking light next to it, you might wonder what it is.
In this article, we explain why some phones have this red blinking light and whether you should worry about it.
What Is The Red Light Blinking Next To Your Phone’s Front Camera?
The red light you see next to your phone’s front camera is the IR LED of the proximity sensor. Your phone uses the proximity sensor to turn off the display during calls.
The proximity sensor locates near the top of the front screen. But its exact position can be slightly different on different phone models.
Why Only Some People Can See The Red Light Of The Proximity Sensor?
Ideally, the IR LED of your phone’s proximity sensor should only emit IR light, which is invisible to the human eye. However, some IR LEDs still emit very small amounts of visible red light close to the IR spectrum.
Different people can have slightly different sensitivities to light. So people with higher sensitivities can see the red light of a proximity sensor, while the ones with lower sensitivities can’t.
Why Does The Red Light Visible Only When Looking Through Another Camera?
Sometimes you won’t see the red light next to your phone’s front camera through the naked eye. But you will see it if you look through another camera. How is this possible?
Most cameras have a higher sensitivity range than the human eye. So cameras will detect the faint red light coming from an IR LED of a proximity sensor, while your eyes won’t.
Why Only Some Phones Have The Red Light Next To The Front Camera?
Not all phones have this red light next to the front camera. Different phones use different proximity sensors from different manufacturers. These sensors have different IR LEDs with slightly different output spectrums.
Therefore, some phones can emit red light closer to the visible spectrum, while others won’t.
Do You Have To Worry About The Red Light Near Front Camera?
As we explained, the red light blinking next to your phone’s front camera is from the proximity sensor. So you don’t have to worry about it.
Most phones also don’t allow you to turn off the proximity sensor. So it’s not possible to eliminate this red light entirely.
Conclusion
The red light next to your phone’s front camera is from the IR LED of the proximity sensor. IR LEDs emit a small percentage of red light, making them visible.
The proximity sensor is vital to your phone, and you don’t have to worry about this red light in any way.
