Is it possible to silence camera shutter on iPhone 15 Pro Max?

It’s crazy that in 2024 Apple doesn’t have an option to silence the annoying shutter sound without silencing the entire phone.

What’s crazy is thinking someone would want this feature just for taking photos of people without their knowledge. Some people have kids they want to take photos of when they are sleeping, catch a candid of a pet without setting them off, or just simply not ruining the moment with a loud and sharp sound for someone on the spectrum. You’re right though, only your needs are met so it’s okay.

Well, this is the discussion forums is it not? I’m not arguing, but stating what can be easily done on any android phone. I understand privacy but my mirrorless dslr doesn’t make a sound and I also don’t need permission to capture a photo of someone in public. Most people are not doing this, myself included. Having it built into the camera would be far easier than to work around a problem that shouldn’t even exist. Get off your horse buddy, not everyone is arguing with you because they think differently.

What is crazy is thinking that Apple thinks the same way you do. Obviously, if Apple wanted this feature they would have put it in. As they haven’t in 17 years of iPhones they made the decision that it was not a feature they wanted to include. The year is totally irrelevant. I would guess that in 2034 it won’t be there either.

Have you considered how rude it is to take a picture of someone without letting them know? Maybe that is part of Apple’s thinking. And there are countries where it is illegal to take a photo without making the shutter sound, and in those countries even the Mute switch won’t turn it off.

And, from my previous post that you perhaps missed:

You can silence the camera with the Mute switch, except in countries where cameras are required to make noise (Japan and the Republic of Korea). There is no setting that mutes it, however. But you could probably create a “camera” Focus that did nothing but mute the camera when enabled. And a lot of people put their finger over the speaker on the bottom right of the phone, which sort of mutes the shutter sound.

J033 wrote:

Well, this is the discussion forums is it not? I’m not arguing, but stating what can be easily done on any android phone. I understand privacy but my mirrorless dslr doesn’t make a sound and I also don’t need permission to capture a photo of someone in public. Most people are not doing this, myself included. Having it built into the camera would be far easier than to work around a problem that shouldn’t even exist. Get off your horse buddy, not everyone is arguing with you because they think differently.

This is not a discussion forum. This is a technical support forum where users ask others users for technical support and users offer help if they can. The question was asked how to mute ONLY the camera shutter sound and it has been answered. The fact some may not like the answer doesn't mean it should be debated as this is a user to user only forum. And as users no one here had anything to do with how Apple made iOS work. Nor can anyone here change anything.

If anyone doesn't like how Apple chooses to implement something, instead of debating/discussing it here, where no one from Apple will read it, this feedback link can be used to Apple know their thoughts --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

I’m with CSMillerKy, it is crazy you cannot silence the camera without silencing your whole phone. That should have been part of the information about the phone. An iPhone is a big investment, I may end up trading it for a competitor phone. 😞

MH1829 wrote:

I’m with CSMillerKy, it is crazy you cannot silence the camera without silencing your whole phone. That should have been part of the information about the phone. An iPhone is a big investment, I may end up trading it for a competitor phone. 😞

If you think another manufacturers phone would be better for you, it surely doesn't matter to anyone here on this user to user only forum. You should always buy the device which is best for you. What's amazing is the consternation over something which can easily be silenced long enough to take a photo then unmute the phone. And to express that with only other users, none of whom have anything to do with it isn't going to change anything.

If you don't like how Apple implemented the camera shutter sound, tell them as opposed to keeping this conversation going, which is pointless, as again, no one here can change anything. Feedback to Apple goes here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

You can silence the camera with the Mute switch, except in countries where cameras are required to make noise (Japan and the Republic of Korea). There is no setting that mutes it, however. But you could probably create a “camera” Focus that did nothing but mute the camera when enabled. And a lot of people put their finger over the speaker on the bottom right of the phone, which sort of mutes the shutter sound.

Press and hold the mute button (assuming you have the button set to do that). It takes less than a second.

That noise exists to warn people that their picture is being taken, possibly without permission.

richardbuddenhagen wrote:

Thanks. None of these solutions are as simple as using the volume on/off button on my old Iphone 7Plus, but I'll have to adapt. How might I create a camera focus to mute the shutter sound?

Why not? Your iPhone 15 ProMax still has a button you can set for turning the volume on/off.

J033 wrote:

What’s crazy is thinking someone would want this feature just for taking photos of people without their knowledge.

It's not crazy at all. This was, in the past, a significant problem in Japan and Korea. And, it has even been a problem in the U.S. But, Lawrence explained that.

Some people have kids they want to take photos of when they are sleeping, catch a candid of a pet without setting them off, or just simply not ruining the moment with a loud and sharp sound for someone on the spectrum. You’re right though, only your needs are met so it’s okay.

And it's very easy to accommodate that (unless your phone is from a country where it's not allowed): use the mute switch on your phone. Or, position your finger over the speaker. I find that works quite well. And Lawrence explained that, too. So, you're arguing about a feature you can easily work around.

MH1829 wrote:

I’m with CSMillerKy, it is crazy you cannot silence the camera without silencing your whole phone. That should have been part of the information about the phone. An iPhone is a big investment, I may end up trading it for a competitor phone. 😞

iPhones also don't have a T9 keyboard, don't have an FM radio. They don't have lots of options. The idea that Apple should tell you everything that the iPhone doesn't do is, well, absurd.

What iPhones do tend to have is great re-sale value.

That's helpful 👍🏻 Maybe Apple should make this option a little more prominent - and we could all ask why certain features don't have an obvious toggle - like setting the camera to square format, rather than resetting it to square for the millionth time?

All that would be needed is a switch in the camera settings to allow the sound to be turned off.

The (imho incomplete) workaround is to open the Shortcuts app, select Automation, click the + at the top right to create a new automation, and scroll down to "App". Select this, choose the camera app, make sure "Is opened" is checked, select "run immediately" and leave "notify when run" switched off. Then select "New Automation" on the next screen, "Add an Action" and find Media|Set Volume (use the search bar, type Vol and it should be in the top three). Select that and change the 50% number to 0% (Set |>Media volume to 0%).

There's probably a way to get the current volume, store it in a 3rd location, and set the volume to zero when the camera opens, then a second action to recall that variable and set the volume to that value when Camera is closed. That's a much better solution, but working with iOS shortcuts is like having to program in a new language using a keyboard with blank keys with keystrokes which have been arranged randomly and having the programming text obscured by password stars. Oh, and none of the programming syntax documented.

[Edited by Moderator]