Camera and microphone permissions in Edge and Firefox

Published 2026-10-24

Microsoft Edge and Firefox both ask before a website can use your camera or microphone, and both remember what you answered. They store and name that decision differently, which is why instructions for one browser do not match the screen of the other. This article walks through each browser in turn, then covers the checks that apply to both.

What the two browsers have in common

In both browsers the permission belongs to a website, not to a single call. The first time a page asks, a prompt appears next to the address bar. If you allow it, the site can use the device; if you block it, the site is refused. Both browsers remember the choice for next time when you ask them to, or by default, and both give you a list where you can review and undo it. Neither browser can override the operating system: if Windows or macOS blocks the browser as a whole, a website cannot get the camera even when the browser permission says Allow. Related articles at the end explain that layer.

The practical rule is to fix things in this order. Check the site permission first, because it is the most common cause. Then check that the device is not already in use. Then check the operating system privacy setting.

Microsoft Edge: answer the prompt

When a site asks, Edge shows a dialog next to the address bar. Microsoft's help says that you choose Allow to give access and Block to refuse it, and that closing the dialog without choosing also refuses. If you closed it by accident, the site is treated as blocked and the page may never ask again, so use the steps below to give it another chance.

Microsoft Edge: change a saved choice

Select Settings and more (the three dots at the top right), then Settings.
Select Privacy, search, and services, then Site permissions, and choose All sites. In some versions of Edge the same list is reached through Cookies and site permissions; the name of the entry moves around between releases.
Find the website in the list and open it. Microsoft's help describes using the Camera or Microphone drop-down on that page.
Change the drop-down from Block to Allow, or to Ask if you want to be prompted each time.
Reload the page you were using and try the call again.

If you cannot find the site, use the search box at the top of the list. The address you search for has to match the one in the address bar, so a page on a different subdomain is a different entry.

Microsoft Edge on Windows: the system switch

Windows has its own switches, and Edge is a desktop app, which Microsoft treats as a separate case. In Windows Settings go to Privacy and security, then Camera. Make sure Camera access and Let apps access your camera are on, and that Let desktop apps access your camera is on, because desktop apps cannot be toggled one by one and this setting governs them. Do the same under Microphone. Microsoft's help states that even when the camera and microphone are enabled for Edge, each website still needs your permission, so both layers have to allow it.

Firefox: answer the prompt

When a site asks, Firefox shows a pop-up that asks whether to share your device's camera and microphone with that site. There is a checkbox labelled Remember this decision. If you tick it, Firefox applies your answer to that site from now on, which is convenient for a service you trust and a trap if you ticked it while refusing. If you do not tick it, Firefox treats the answer as temporary and asks again next time.

Firefox: review and undo decisions

Click the permissions icon at the left of the address bar. It shows Allowed, Allowed Temporarily, Blocked or Blocked Temporarily next to Camera or Microphone. Click the X next to that status to clear it, and Firefox will ask again the next time you visit.
To see every site at once, open the Firefox menu, choose Settings, then Privacy and Security. Scroll down to the Permissions section and press the Settings button next to Camera (and again for Microphone). The list shows the sites you allowed or blocked, and you can change each one or remove it.
In the same window there is a checkbox to block new requests asking for access to the device. If it is ticked, no site will get a prompt, which looks exactly like a broken camera. Untick it if you want sites to be able to ask.
If a page never asks, open Page Info (click the permissions icon or use the menu) and look at the Permissions tab. There you can set Camera and Microphone to Allow, Block or Always Ask for that page.

Differences you will notice

Edge, like Chrome, builds on the same engine and shows a single site-permissions list where each site has Camera and Microphone drop-downs. Firefox keeps separate lists for Camera and for Microphone and offers Always Ask as an explicit state.
Firefox's Remember this decision is optional on each prompt. Edge simply stores the answer.
Firefox shows a temporary state, such as Allowed Temporarily, for answers you did not ask it to remember. Edge does not use that wording.
Menu names move between releases in both browsers, and a company or school may lock them. If a setting is greyed out, ask the administrator.

Checks that help in either browser

Reload the page after you change a setting; call pages read the permission when they load.
Look at the device chosen inside the call page. Some services remember a headset that is no longer connected.
Close other programs that use the camera. Windows describes error code 0xA00F4243 as another app or process using the camera, and recommends shutting down background apps that could be using it.
Update the browser. Outdated versions can have menus that differ from the ones described here.
Try a private window to rule out a saved setting or an extension. If the call works there, the problem is a stored permission or an extension.
Use the free camera and microphone test on this site to see whether the browser can read the devices at all, independent of the call service.

Privacy reminders

Grant access only to sites you use for calls. Prefer temporary or ask-every-time settings for sites you visit rarely. Check the lists now and then and remove entries you no longer need. If a browser shows an indicator that the camera or microphone is active and you did not start a call, close that tab and review the site's permissions.

About ChatLite

ChatLite follows the browser permissions described above. If a call page looks dead, check the Camera and Microphone entries for chatlite.net first.

References

Official documentation used to check this article. Pages are maintained by their owners and may change.

Reviewed against ChatLite's current behavior on 2026-10-24.