Embedded camera with privacy filter

An apparatus, comprising:

• a housing adjacent at least a portion of a display of a device;
• a camera integrated into the housing and oriented to capture images proximate the display of the device;
• and
• a panel positioned in front of at least a portion of the camera and operable to selectively switch between at least a substantially transparent state and at least a substantially opaque state, the substantially opaque state substantially prevents the camera from detecting images of a user of the device when interacting with the device display, wherein the housing includes a transparent portion and an opaque portion adjacent the transparent portion and a surface of the opaque portion defining boundary perceivable through the transparent portion, and a surface of the panel in the substantially opaque state is substantially coplanar with at least a portion of the perceivable boundary.

A method, comprising:

• constructing a device having a bezel operable to secure a screen within the device, the device including a camera oriented to capture images proximate the device screen;
• forming a window in the bezel;
• and
• integrating a panel in the window, the panel positioned in front of at least a portion of the camera and operable to selectively switch between at least a substantially transparent state and at least a substantially opaque state, the substantially opaque state substantially prevents the camera from detecting images of a user of the device when interacting with the device display, wherein the bezel includes an opaque layer, the method further comprising aligning the opaque layer with a surface of the panel to provide a substantially similar depth of the opaque layer and the panel surface from a surface of the bezel.