Windows is chock-full of mildly infuriating quirks that seemingly exist for no reason. One of those quirks is the fact that you can’t use the same camera in multiple apps simultaneously (at least without a third-party app that virtually clones your webcam feed).
Speculation abounds as to why Microsoft imposes this restriction. Perhaps it has something to do with privacy or security. Or the possibility of collisions when different apps try to adjust the webcam’s settings in contradictory ways. Or maybe it has to do with performance issues, which really was an issue back in the days when PCs were weaker and webcams sucked up a lot of processing power.
Whatever the reasons, things have changed and Microsoft is finally allowing multiple apps to access the same webcam at the same time (as reported by Windows Latest). In the upcoming major update, which is slated to release sometime during the fall season, Windows 11 will get a new feature called Multi-app Camera.
With Multi-app Camera enabled, you’ll be able to use a given webcam’s feed in multiple apps at the same time. However, you won’t be able to change the camera’s settings from any of the apps using it; when Multi-app Camera is enabled, you can only adjust settings (like brightness) via Windows 11’s camera settings.
The update will also include another new feature called Camera Basic Mode, which strips the webcam down to basic functionality and makes it easier to troubleshoot any issues you might be dealing with.
Further reading: The best webcams for your PC
