The creepy 'fake eye contact' feature on Facetime you NEVER knew about

The creepy ‘fake eye contact’ feature on Facetime you NEVER knew about: ‘I’m terrified’

  • iPhone users have discovered a creepy feature on their FaceTime settings 
  • Little known feature, which Apple quietly launched in 2019, will make it appear as if users are making eye contact with the person they’re FaceTiming
  • Branded ‘creepy’ and ‘terrifying’ by iPhone users who didn’t know about it 

iPhone users have discovered a creepy feature on their FaceTime settings which ‘forces them’ to have eye contact the person on the other end of the phone.

The little known feature, which Apple quietly launched in 2019, will make it appear as if users are making eye contact with the person they’re FaceTiming, even if they’re looking elsewhere.

Without the feature, if a person is looking directly at the person on the other side of the phone they won’t appear to be looking at them in the eye as they’re not directly looking at the camera.


iPhone users have discovered a creepy feature on their FaceTime settings which forces them to have eye contact the person on the other end of the phone. Pictured: Twitter user Mike Rundle without the filter, left, and with it right 

However, the feature will digitally alter your image during a FaceTime so your eyes appear to be looking directly at the caller. 

Tech enthusiast Will Sig shared an image of him FaceTiming his friend Mike Rundle – with and without the setting on.

With eye contact correction on, Mike’s gaze is down while once its on he appears to be looking at Will straight in the eye. 

‘FaceTime Attention Correction is wild,’ he wrote sharing the two pictures.

Apple uses the ARCore – the same technology used for Face ID and Animoji – to make this work. The setting is turned on automatically, to the shock on many iPhone users

Apple uses the ARCore – the same technology used for Face ID and Animoji – to make this work. The setting is turned on automatically, to the shock on many iPhone users. 

How to turn off eye contact on FaceTime 

Go to settings

Choose FaceTime

Look for an option called Eye Contact and toggle it off 

Officially called FaceTime Attention Correction some argue it can help make calls with feel more personal – but others have branded it ‘creepy’ and urged others to ‘turn it off now’. 

‘Facetime eye contact thingy is creepy as f***’ one Twitter user wrote.

‘I didn’t realize ios14 had a FaceTime update called “eye contact” that alters the way your eyes look and was genuinely terrified and confused,’ wrote another. 

‘Just found out that facetime has a weird eye contact feature???? that’s creepy’ said another.

‘I just found out there’s an augmented reality filter turned on by default on recent versions of #FaceTime that edit your eyes to look like you’re making eye contact! What in the neurotypical?’ one tweeted.

‘The eye contact feature on FaceTime is creepy af,’ said another. 

To turn it off, users need to go to settings, then choose FaceTime and toggle ‘Eye Contact’ off. 

Officially called FaceTime Attention Correction some argue it can help make calls with feel more personal – but others have branded it ‘creepy’ and urged others to ‘turn it off now’.

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