Kickstarter "Nope": A Tiny Magnet To Protect Your Privacy

Leaks, government spies, schools of dubious repute — all potential ways your computer's webcam can be transformed into a portal of snooping. In light of the Edward Snowden leaks, many have felt the long-held and oft-dismissed habit of covering a webcam with tape maybe isn't quite as paranoid as it once seemed. It is, however, cheap looking. Nope, a successful Kickstarter, is looking to classy things up a bit.

Nope is an odd Kickstarter campaign for your weekend's amusement, and one would be justified in wondering if it is a serious effort or not. The device, if it can properly be called that, is simply two magnets touching each other, with one that attaches to your display's bezel via tape backing and another that floats over the webcam lens by sticking to the first magnet.

You're probably wondering to yourself what is wrong with a piece of tape, but Nope creator Ananda Svarupa Das is one step ahead of you with the answers: it gets less sticky over time and looks unprofessional, among other things. The Nope is a bit more classy, and users needn't worry about it getting in the way of closing the device.

A pledge of $5 will get you two Nopes, and delivery is set at December of this year. The campaign was seeking $500, and currently sits a bit above $15,000 with almost two months left to go.

SOURCE: Kickstarter