Frequently Asked Questions

FakeCam is a virtual webcam application for Windows, free to use. It streams a video, an image, your screen or a recorded loop of yourself as a camera feed in apps like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and any other application that uses a camera.

Install it from the Microsoft Store (recommended: signed by Microsoft, updates itself), or download the installer or the portable ZIP from the download page. No account is required.

Click the Register button in the Virtual Camera section. Windows will prompt you for administrator permission. Once registered, FakeCam will appear as a camera device in all your applications.

This is almost always a missing Microsoft component. Installing the virtual camera needs the Microsoft Visual C++ runtime, which Windows does not always include. Install it from the link below, it is a small official Microsoft download and needs no restart, then click Register again in FakeCam. If it still fails, your antivirus may be blocking the registration: allow FakeCam, or pause the protection for a moment, then try once more.

Download the Microsoft Visual C++ runtime (x64)

First, click the Unregister button in FakeCam to remove the virtual camera device from your system. Then simply delete the FakeCam folder. No registry entries or other files are left behind.

FakeCam works with almost any app that lets you choose a webcam, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Telegram, Google Meet, Discord and OBS.

FakeCam plays common video files (MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, WMV, plus .ts, .m2ts and .mts) and images (JPG, PNG, BMP, WebP). It can also play an animated GIF or WebP as a looping clip, and any video can be looped. Very recent codecs such as HEVC/H.265 and AV1 may not play unless Windows has the matching codec installed; if a file will not open, convert it to H.264 MP4.

Yes, you can select a resolution from the dropdown in the Source section, or type a custom resolution. The change takes effect the next time the camera is started.

Yes. The Screen tab streams your whole screen (with an option to hide the taskbar), a region you draw, or one specific window as your camera. It is handy in apps that have no screen sharing: you join with a normal camera that happens to show your screen.

You record a short clip of yourself in a private studio inside FakeCam; nothing is broadcast while you record, and the clip is stored only on your PC. When you want to step away, an outline helps you match the clip's starting pose, then the loop takes over your camera. When you come back, you line up again and go live: FakeCam plays the loop back to your pose and switches on the matching frame, so the cut is invisible.

Done right, it is very hard to spot. The loop plays forward and backward so it never visibly restarts, and the return lands exactly on your pose. Sit naturally, avoid big one-off gestures in the clip, and keep it for moments where you would just be listening anyway. Nobody looks that closely at a webcam tile.

That is normal and nothing is wrong. Video chat apps show your own preview mirrored, like a real mirror, so any text looks reversed to you. The person on the other end sees your video the right way round. If you prefer a different orientation, you can toggle the Mirror option in FakeCam.

Make sure you have registered the virtual camera by clicking the Register button in FakeCam. Then restart the application that needs to use the camera. Some apps only detect cameras at startup.

No, FakeCam is Windows only. The way it creates the virtual camera relies on Windows technology that has no equivalent on Mac or Linux. It needs Windows 10 or later (64-bit).

Yes, with WhatsApp Web: open web.whatsapp.com in Chrome or Edge and select FakeCam as your camera. The standalone WhatsApp desktop app uses a newer Windows camera system that does not support virtual cameras, so use WhatsApp in your browser instead. Keep FakeCam open and playing a file when you start the call.

Yes. FakeCam is free to use, with no time limit and no usage caps. An optional one-time PRO purchase unlocks the full experience.

Yes. FakeCam is free for any use, personal or professional, with no separate commercial license. If you would like the full experience and to support development, an optional one-time PRO purchase is available on the download page.

First check your spam folder, license emails sometimes land there. If the key is not there, you can have it sent to you again: use the page below with the email address you used at checkout. If that still does not work, contact us with your order number.

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