I think iOS 26 is also just broken when it comes to the indicator, sometimes I’ve quit the Camera app and I’ve noticed the indicator will stay in use whenever I’m on Springboard. Not sure what they did this year to break it :/
If it's not a bug, then that's an information for you that the Camera is being used by whatever process is going on out there. Maybe if someone chimes in if they have knowledge about the green dot? Is it part of the OS as an app/process or does it have a parallel system independent of apps running?
When I dismiss the camera app, I still see green dot for a bit, then it switches to orange (microphone?) before it disappears completely. The little enclave is cute but *OS 26 has been so full of bugs that can you really say all this is working safely and as intended?
Apple’s new Secure Indicator Light (SIL) mechanism. When using the microphone or camera, the corresponding indicator dot is effectively rendered in hardware, making it a lot less likely that any malware or user space app would be able to access those sensors without the user’s knowledge.
If this mechanism isn't working as intended, Apple pays $100,000 to $2,000,000 bounty for bugs that breach security boundaries which protect sensitive user data or sandboxes.
That's cool but someone needs to find said bugs and Apple is not exactly open for audit. Given the critical nature of smartphones, I think corps of this magnitude should be subject to oversight and clear and transparent external evaluation of such sensitive systems.
