Where is shutter sound on Android?

The shutter sound on Android phones is an audio clip that plays whenever you take a photo using the camera app. It mimics the sound of a physical shutter on a traditional camera. While today’s smartphone cameras don’t actually have a physical shutter, the sound effect is there by design.

The shutter sound was introduced as a privacy measure to make it obvious when someone is secretly taking photos in public. Without any shutter sound, a phone camera could discretely take photos without anyone around noticing. The sound acts as an alert that a photo is being taken.

Default Shutter Sound Behavior

The default camera app on Android devices is designed to make a shutter sound whenever a photo is taken. This is an intentional feature built into Android and cannot be disabled through the default camera app settings (source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-turn-off-camera-shutter-sound-on-your-android-phone/). The shutter sound occurs regardless of whether the device is set to vibrate, silent, or has media volume muted.

This default shutter sound behavior is due to regulations in certain countries like Japan and South Korea that require camera phones to make an audible shutter sound to prevent secret photography (source: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/8906909/how-do-i-change-default-shutter-sound-in-android). The shutter sound file is embedded into the Android OS camera software and cannot be fully removed or disabled on stock camera apps.

While the default shutter sound cannot be turned off through the camera app settings, there are some workarounds Android users can try to mute or change the shutter sound which will be covered in this article.

Shutter Sound Regulation

Many countries have laws that require phones to make an audible shutter sound when taking photos, regardless of the phone’s settings. This is primarily intended to protect privacy and prevent secret unauthorized photography, especially in sensitive locations.

The shutter sound requirement originated in Japan and South Korea. According to sources, Japan introduced the regulation in the early 2000s to help prevent voyeurism and illegal photography (The Sun, 2023). The law applies to all camera phones sold in Japan and it is illegal to distribute phones that allow the shutter sound to be muted.

South Korea has similar legislation requiring audible shutter sounds on phones. The laws in both countries apply to domestic and foreign phones sold there (KTLA, 2023).

Some other countries like India and Brazil have optional shutter sound settings, while most countries do not have any regulations and allow the shutter sound to be muted if desired.

Disabling the Shutter Sound

There are a few different ways to mute or disable the shutter sound on Android devices:

One method is to use a third party camera app like Open Camera or Photo Director, which allow you to disable shutter sounds in the settings.

Another option is to modify the system files on your device to rename or delete the shutter sound file. This requires root access and can be risky, but tutorials are available online, like this one on GitHub.

Some users have also reported success disabling the shutter sound using accessibility services like LBE Privacy Guard. This doesn’t require root access.

Finally, certain apps like Zedge offer shutter sound packs you can download to replace the default camera sound with a silent audio file.

While not always straightforward, with the right approach it is possible to mute or disable the shutter sound on Android phones.

Third Party Camera Apps

While the default camera app and system settings on most Android phones do not allow disabling the shutter sound, several third party camera applications provide the option to turn off the shutter click. These apps allow full manual control over camera settings and functions.

Some popular third party camera apps that allow you to disable the shutter sound include Camera MX, Cam360, PiCam, Footej Camera, and Open Camera. Most provide the shutter sound option in the settings or prior to taking a photo. With full manual control, users can disable shutter sounds and take photos silently.

The advantage of using a third party camera app is gaining access to pro photography controls while also having the option to turn off shutter clicks for situations where a silent camera is preferred.

Modifying System Files

One way to disable the camera shutter sound on Android phones like Samsung is by modifying system files. This involves accessing the internal storage on your device and renaming or deleting the shutter sound file located in the UI system folder.

To do this, you’ll need a file explorer or file manager app that has root access permissions to view and edit system files and folders. Using the app, navigate to the /system/media/audio/ui folder. Here you should see a file named “camera_click.ogg” – this is the shutter sound file.

You can either rename this file to something like “camera_click.bak” or just delete it altogether. By renaming it or removing the file, the camera app will no longer be able to play the shutter click sound when taking photos.

According to sources like this XDA thread, this method will permanently disable the shutter sound on your Samsung device. However, it does require root access on your phone which involves unlocking the bootloader and flashing custom recovery.

Zedge App Method

One popular method for disabling the camera shutter sound on Android phones is by using the Zedge app. Zedge is an app and website that offers free ringtones, notification sounds, wallpapers and more for mobile devices. Within the Zedge app, users can find and install custom silent camera sounds to replace the default shutter noise.

To use Zedge to mute the camera shutter:

1. Download and install the Zedge app from the Play Store or App Store.
2. Open the app and search for “silent camera sound” or “mute camera sound.”
3. Browse the search results and select a suitable silent camera sound to download.
4. After downloading, go to your device’s Settings > Sounds and select the Zedge silent sound as your camera shutter tone.

The Zedge app offers a large library of customizable sounds, allowing you to find silent camera sounds or other subtle tones. Just be sure to set the downloaded Zedge sound as your default camera noise. The app makes it easy to override the standard shutter sound on Android without rooting the device.

Rooting

Rooting allows you to gain complete control over your Android device. By rooting your phone, you can modify system files and settings that are normally restricted by Android. This gives you the ability to permanently disable the camera shutter sound.

The process of rooting varies depending on your device model and Android version. Generally, it involves unlocking the bootloader, installing a custom recovery, and flashing the su binary using an app like Magisk or SuperSU. Detailed rooting guides can be found on forums like XDA Developers.

Once your device is rooted, you can modify the system’s media_profiles.xml file to disable the camera shutter sound. This file controls audio settings for the camera. Just comment out or delete the <CameraShutter> lines related to the shutter sound.

Rooting gives you full system access but also carries risks like voiding your warranty or bricking your device. Make sure to research the risks before rooting. If done properly, rooting allows permanent shutter sound removal.

Accessibility Settings

One way to disable the camera shutter sound on Android phones is by using the device’s accessibility settings. Most Android devices include options to disable audible feedback for accessibility purposes. By enabling these settings, users can mute sounds like the camera shutter.

For example, on Samsung Galaxy devices running One UI 4 or newer, users can go to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing enhancements and toggle off “Camera shutter sound” to disable the shutter noise (source). Similarly, on many other Android phones like Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, etc., users can find accessibility settings to turn off touch sounds, screen lock sounds, dial pad tones, and camera shutter sounds.

The main advantage of using accessibility settings is that it does not require rooting the device or using third party apps. It is a simple setting that persistently mutes the camera sound. However, a drawback is that it disables all system sounds, so users would not hear other feedback like incoming call rings, alarm sounds, etc. Overall, accessibility settings provide an easy built-in option to disable shutter sound on Android.

Summary

In summary, there are a few main methods covered in this article for disabling the shutter sound on Android phones:

• Using third party camera apps that allow disabling shutter sound
• Modifying system files to rename or delete the shutter sound file (requires root access)
• Using the Zedge app to download a silent shutter sound file and replace the system shutter sound
• Enabling accessibility services and using apps that can disable shutter sound when accessibility is enabled
• On some devices, changing shutter sound settings in the device’s camera app

The easiest options are to use a third party camera app or the Zedge app method. However, for full control and to permanently disable the shutter sound, rooting the device and modifying the system files is the most effective approach. Accessibility settings can also work on some devices. Ultimately, there are a few different ways owners of Android devices can disable the shutter sound if needed.