fakecam

fakecam is an open-source Linux application in the Video & Media Players category. It creates a modified version of a webcam image for use during streaming and video conferencing. The software is intended for users who want to change how their surroundings appear in a webcam feed.

The application can blur the area behind the person on camera or replace that area with an image chosen by the user. It also provides a Star Wars holograph-style effect that makes the webcam image look like a transmission from a distant galaxy. These options operate on the webcam feed before it is passed to another application.

fakecam makes the processed image available as a second webcam feed. While fakecam is running, a user can select the Fakecam video input device in a webcam-supporting application such as Zoom or Skype. This allows the modified feed to be used without requiring the receiving application to provide its own background effects.

The software uses the v4l2loopback kernel module to provide this additional video device on Linux. On Debian and Ubuntu derivatives, the module is supplied through the v4l2loopback-dkms package, and it requires the configuration described for fakecam, including loading the module automatically. MirrorNest distributes the official build directly from its own storage and scans it for malware before publishing it.