OnePlus is temporarily disabling the OnePlus 8 Pro's color filter camera over 'privacy concerns' [Updated]

Oneplus 8 Pro
Oneplus 8 Pro (Image credit: Andrew Martonik / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • OnePlus will disable the OnePlus 8 Pro's color filter camera with an upcoming update.
  • It was recently discovered that the color filter camera is capable of seeing through plastic and certain types of cloth.
  • OnePlus says the camera will be re-enabled in the future after it fixes the "x-ray" problem.

Update: OnePlus has now clarified that it doesn't plan to roll out an update to disable the color filter camera on OxygenOS. Instead, it is working on an update to offer the Photochrom filter while limiting functionality that "may be of concern." The update is expected to begin rolling out in the coming weeks.

Earlier this month, a few OnePlus 8 Pro users on Reddit discovered that the phone's color filter camera is capable of seeing through thin layers of plastic. Unsurprisingly, the discovery raised privacy concerns, as the camera is also capable of partially "seeing through" certain types of clothing.

OnePlus has now announced on Weibo that it will be rolling out a new HydrogenOS update for the OnePlus 8 Pro to disable the color filter camera. The update is expected to be pushed out within a week. Even though OnePlus hasn't officially confirmed it yet, we can expect a similar OxygenOS update to roll out for the global variant of the OnePlus 8 Pro before the end of this month.

The color filter camera will apparently be re-enabled with a future update after OnePlus tweaks it to get around the "x-ray" problem. Most OnePlus 8 Pro users will probably not miss the color filter camera, since it uses a weak 5MP sensor and isn't capable of taking impressive photos. The filter lens on the camera processes light differently from the other three sensors on the OnePlus 8 Pro, generating images with a "unique color tone."

Babu Mohan
News Writer