Private by design

Portal was created with privacy, safety and security in mind. And it has clear and simple settings.

• On Portal TV, Portal Plus, and Portal Go, you can completely disable the camera and microphone with a single tap. On Portal, a sliding switch allows you to disable the camera or physically disconnect both the camera and microphone, and they cannot be turned back on without moving the sliding switch back. A red light next to the lens indicates the camera and microphone are off.

• Use the integrated camera cover if you’d like to physically block the camera lens, but still want to receive incoming calls and notifications, and use “Hey Portal” or Alexa.

• Household mode lets you decide which contacts and apps anyone in your home can access. All other contacts and most apps will require a passcode.

• To further limit Portal access within your home, you can set a 4-12 digit passcode to keep the screen locked.

• You can turn off storage or view, hear, and delete your voice interactions in Portal Settings.

How do I turn the camera and microphone off on Portal?

How do I use household mode on Portal?

How do I set up a passcode for my Portal?

How do I use Portal safely with kids in my home?

How do I access and delete my Portal voice recordings?

On Portal TV, Portal Plus, and Portal Go, you can completely disable the camera and built-in microphone with a single tap. On Portal, a sliding switch allows you to disable the camera or physically disconnect both the camera and built-in microphone, and they cannot be turned back on without moving the sliding switch back. A red light next to the lens indicates the camera and microphone are off.

Use the integrated camera cover if you’d like to physically block the camera lens, but still want to receive incoming calls and notifications, and use voice interactions.

For more information, see:

How do I turn the camera and microphone off on Portal?

Whether you’re moving around the kitchen or chasing the kids through the living room, Portal’s Smart Camera adjusts to follow the action. Smart Camera automatically pans and zooms to keep everyone in the frame.

We designed Portal with industry leading processing capabilities. For added security, Smart Camera uses AI technology that runs locally on Portal, not on Meta servers. Portal’s camera does not use facial recognition and does not identify who you are — it uses AI technology to frame a scene. To do this, it determines whether something in the room is or isn’t a person.

How do I control the camera during a call on Portal?

My Portal’s smart camera is having problems automatically following my movement

AI Under the Hood: Portal’s Smart Camera

Meta doesn’t listen to, view or keep what you say or what your camera captures on a Portal call. We do offer in-call features that may capture portions of your calls. Like when you use “Hey Portal” during a call. For more information on how “Hey Portal” works and what information it collects, see here.

“Hey Portal” is a wake word that lets you use your Portal hands-free. If available in your language, simply say “Hey Portal” when you want Portal to start a video call, check the weather or respond to other commands. Portal activates when it hears “Hey Portal” and gives you a visual confirmation at the bottom of the screen. When your Portal hears the wake word, it will start to record your voice interaction and send it to Meta servers in real-time to respond to your request.

A trained team may review a sample to make our voice services smarter and more accurate. You can view, hear, and delete any of your “Hey Portal” voice interactions in your Facebook Activity Log. You can also turn off storage in Settings anytime.

When you turn Portal’s microphone off, Portal won’t listen for the wake word, and voice control will be disabled. You can view, hear, and delete your Portal’s voice interactions in Portal Settings or in your Facebook Activity Log, and you can manage whether Meta stores your voice interactions in Portal Settings. For more information about “Hey Portal” voice interactions, see here. If you have Alexa enabled on Portal, you can manage your Alexa voice history in the Alexa app.

When you use Portal, we collect information in a similar way to other Meta products. Some of this information, including the fact that you logged into your account, made a call, or how often you use an in-call feature or app, may be used to inform the ads you see across Meta. For example, if you make lots of video calls, you might see some ads related to video calling.

Meta does not listen to, view or keep what you say or what your camera captures on a Portal call.

We do offer in-call features that may capture portions of your calls. Like when you use “Hey Portal” during a call. For more information, see here. Meta does not use what you say on a Portal audio or video call for advertising.

Portal does not show ads from Meta. Some third-party services on Portal (e.g., music partners) may embed ads in their content in the same way they do when providing their services on other devices. Meta does not use anything you say on a Portal video call or any of your voice interactions for advertising.

Portal is designed to help you connect more often with your loved ones. With Portal, you can call, and be called by, your Facebook friends, as well as WhatsApp contacts (if you log in with WhatsApp). You can also save Facebook or Whatsapp contacts as favorites on the Portal home screen for quick access. If you share your device with another owner, that owner’s Facebook or Whatsapp contacts can also call your Portal and be called from your Portal.

For more information, see:

Who can I call or receive calls from on Portal?

How does calling work on Portal?

Portal Messenger or WhatsApp calls show up in each app's Conversation History.

Stored “Hey Portal” voice interactions are kept on Meta servers for up to 1 year. We delete “false wakes” within 90 days of detection. When we delete voice interactions, they will no longer appear in your Portal Settings or Facebook Activity Log and will be deleted from our systems. You can always delete your “Hey Portal” voice interactions in Portal Settings or your Facebook Activity Log. Alternatively, you can turn off storage of your “Hey Portal” voice interactions in Portal Settings.