WebWebCam is a Chrome Extension for using a remote web cam as a virtual camera device in the browser using WebRTC. Unlike other virtual camera options, WebWebCam requires no operating system-level installs - just the extension - and is easy to turn on/off when it is needed. WebWebCam is also completely wireless. All media is peer-to-peer, end-to-end encrypted.
WebWebCam is useful for:
- Using your mobile phone as a high-quality webcam - your mobile phone probably has better quality than your laptop's webcam
- Adding a different camera feed in your meetings app without having to join multiple times - i.e. use your mobile to show a whiteboard without having to awkwardly position your laptop
- Using a microphone connected to your phone or other computer without having to configure it on the computer you use for meetings
WebWebCam is very much a work-in-progress.
Current installation requires side-loading from chrome://extensions in developer mode. We hope to submit it to the Chrome Web App store soon.
- Sideload the extension in chrome://extensions
- If you click the extension pop-up window next to the browser bar you will see a QR code.
- Use your mobile phone to scan this QR code and open that web page
- Once scanned, that web page will automatically connect to your browser. Make sure to accept permissions. You can see the preview in the extension pop-up window.
- Go to the web version of your favorite meetings app - i.e. make sure to click join from this browser instead of from the Zoom / Teams app
- Change the camera and/or microphone in your meetings app to "webwebcam" - you'll see/hear the remote feed
Alternatively you can copy the unique URL shown in the pop-up to the remote browser of your choice to use that as a webcam. If the remote feed is unavailable then WebWebCam will show a standby screen.
Disable WebWebCam from the extension pop-up if you want to turn it off.
- The extension only works with Chrome so make your Zoom/Teams/Meet/Duo/Jitsi/etc. calls there; the remote should work with any browser that has access to a webcam
- Video only - I had some bugs with audio and will be adding that back soon
- Only one tab can use the
webwebcam-videosource at a time - The remote UI needs some work - you may need to press twice to change the video source
- This project uses (peerJS)[https://peerjs.com/] and is reliant on their signaling servers (for now).