How Aussies can avoid their own nude Skype or Zoom scandal after another embarrassing incident airs

Carrie Bickmore’s partner Chris Walker is not the first person to be caught up in a Skype video call for work that ended awkwardly. Here’s how you can avoid the pitfalls.

Carrie Bickmore’s partner Chris Walker is the latest person to be exposed in a nude scandal involving a live streaming camera and a work conference call.

But with video calls now considered business as usual, he’s not alone, and the incident follows a series of even more cringe-worthy incidents occurring since the pandemic began.

There are plenty of ways to limit the chance of staging a starkers Skype call, though, and this is how to better your chances of avoiding it.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LATEST NUDE VIDEO CALL?

ABC executive producer Chris Walker reportedly stripped naked during a Skype call with colleagues on May 17, seemingly not realising his computer’s camera was still recording.

Carrie Bickmore (left) and partner Chris Walker at the 2019 Logie Awards at The Star Casino on the Gold Coast. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled.

The Herald Sun reported Ms Bickmore’s partner was nude on the call for as long as two minutes, with a spokesman saying he was “undressing to get into the shower”.

The ABC has offered employees on the video call access to “a counselling service”.

HAVE NUDE VIDEO CALLS HAPPENED BEFORE?

This is just the latest example of someone caught naked on a video call and it’s arguably not the most embarrassing.

CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin unintentionally gained worldwide notoriety in October 2020 when he was seen masturbating in front of his colleagues on a Zoom call.

The writer lost his job with The New Yorker over the incident, which he later explained was accidental.

The video conferencing app Zoom has delivered several notable nude scandals. Picture: Martin BUREAU / AFP

“I didn’t think other people could see me,” he said. “I thought that I had turned off the Zoom call. Now, that’s not a defence. This was deeply moronic and indefensible.”

Canadian MP William Amos suffered two nude video call scandals within months of one another in 2021; first when he was naked on an internal government video feed, and second when he urinated into a cup during livestreamed parliamentary proceedings.

Mr Amos issued a statement, explaining he did so “without realising I was on camera,” and temporarily stepped down from his post.

On May 14, a couple in the US was caught in an embarrassing mix-up on Zoom when they accidentally broadcast themselves having sex for 45 minutes during a religious service.

Most other participants in the Minnesota bat mitzvah had turned off their cameras, but the middle-aged couple did not do so until after contacted by a friend.

HOW TO AVOID YOUR OWN NUDE SKYPE SCANDAL

The best way to avoid being naked in front of your colleagues is, of course, to remain fully clothed during video calls.

However, there are several ways to monitor whether the camera of your computer or smartphone is operating.

Apple iPhone users running iOS 14 software will see a green dot in the top right corner of their phone when the camera is being used by a program like Zoom, Skype, WebEx or Google Meet.

There are many ways to avoid showing more than you intend on a video call. Picture: AFP

Similarly, Apple Mac users will see a green light beside their webcam when it’s in use.

Samsung’s latest software also shows a green dot when its camera is operating and lets users turn it off for an app by swiping two fingers down the screen and tapping an icon.

Video conferencing apps, from Skype to Zoom, also offer large icons to quickly mute or cut video from your feed and are worth checking before you participate in a call.

And those who are concerned about unintentional exposures can invest in a low-tech solution: webcam covers are available from companies including Targus that let users slide a physical panel over the camera when they don’t want to be seen.

Alternatively, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was seen using tape to achieve the same result.

It’s also worth noting that you can broadcast live video from Facebook or Instagram apps, and could do so accidentally.

When creating a post on Facebook, for example, hitting the ‘Live video’ option will start a broadcast and alert your friends.

Similarly, there’s a Live option when posting to Instagram.

You can avoid accidentally streaming video from either app by removing camera access to the apps in your phone’s settings.

Originally published as How Aussies can avoid their own nude Skype or Zoom scandal after another embarrassing incident airs