Can we use occo without the camera at all?

Yes. Turn the camera off with the camera button, and activities answer touch and clicks instead, so a tablet or a laptop with a trackpad works on its own. You lose the whole-body, stand-up-and-wave part, which is the bit most families come for.

Does the camera keep running when we are not using occo?

No. The camera is used by the browser tab while a camera activity is open. Close the activity with the ✕, turn the camera off with the camera button, close the tab, or take the permission away in the browser, and it stops. Most laptops also light an indicator whenever the camera is live — that light is the honest signal, and it is not something a website can switch off.

Where does the video from the camera go?

It is turned into movement on your own device, and no picture or video is ever sent to occo’s servers. The camera and your family’s privacy explains this properly, including what does leave your home.

Which webcam should I buy?

Any mainstream USB webcam that does 30 frames a second will do — most do. occo asks for up to 1080p, and a camera that cannot keep up 30 frames a second shows as Camera blocked. What matters more than the brand is where you put it: on top of the screen, centered, pointing at the space your child stands in, with enough light on their face.

Two people are in front of the screen. Does that work?

Yes — a sibling joining in is normal and a lot of the point of putting it on a big screen. Most movement activities follow two people by default; a third is simply not tracked. To change that, open Settings, Advanced Settings, then the Advanced Settings section, and set Number of Users. Very crowded rooms give the tracking more to think about, so if it starts behaving oddly, thin out who is standing in frame.

All help topics

Camera setup and troubleshooting

The camera is how a wave becomes a ripple. It is also the part most likely to need five minutes of fiddling on the first evening — almost always about permission, position, or light.

What the camera is for

occo watches for movement so that scenes answer your child rather than just play at them. Reaching, waving, stepping forward — the camera is what turns those into something happening on the screen. The video is turned into movement on the device itself; you can read exactly what that means, and what does and does not leave your home, on the camera and your family’s privacy.

If you would rather not use a camera at all, turn it off with the camera button below, and activities answer touch and clicks instead. You lose the whole-body part, not the activity.

The camera button

At the top left of every activity, beside the ✕, is the camera button. It is green while the camera is on. Tap it to turn the camera off and play with touch or a mouse; tap it again to turn the camera back on. If the row of buttons has faded, move the mouse or tap the screen to bring it back.

Two buttons on a black bar: a white ✕, and a round green button with a video camera on it. — Close, and the camera button, green while the camera is on.

The choice is saved for the child who is playing, on every screen they use. Until someone chooses, the camera starts on on a computer and on an iPad in Safari, and off on a phone or an Android tablet.

Where to put it

On top of the screen, centered. The camera should look out at the room from roughly where the scene is.
Pointing at where your child will stand, not at the ceiling or the sofa arm. Tilt it so their upper body fills a good part of the view.
Far enough back. Standing right up against the screen puts a child out of frame. A step or two back is usually right.
Light on their face, not behind them. A bright window or lamp behind your child turns them into a silhouette, which is hard to track. Turn the setup around or close the curtains.
Using a laptop’s built-in camera? The laptop has to sit near the screen facing the room, lid open. This is workable and it is also why most families end up with a cheap USB webcam on top of the TV.

Letting Chrome use the camera

The first time you open a camera scene, Chrome asks whether the site can use your camera. Choose Allow. If you tapped the wrong thing, or you never saw the prompt:

Look at the left-hand end of Chrome’s address bar for the site controls icon.
Click it and find Camera.
Set it to Allow.
Reload the page. Permission changes do not take effect until you do.

If Camera does not appear in that menu at all, the block is one level up. On a Mac, check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and make sure Chrome is switched on. On Windows, check Settings → Privacy & security → Camera and make sure camera access and desktop-app access are both on. On an iPad, the camera permission is Safari’s: open the Settings app, find Safari, then Camera, and choose Allow.

When occo says Camera blocked

If occo cannot get a picture from the camera — the browser said no, there is no camera, or another app has it — a red Camera blocked button appears at the top left of the activity.

Press Enable on it. occo asks the browser for the camera again, and reloads the activity when it gets it.
If the browser still says no, a Camera Access Needed box explains where to allow it. Follow the steps above, then press Try again.
Or press Continue without camera, and turn the camera off with the camera button so the red button goes away. Activities then answer touch and clicks.

The wrong camera is being used

If your machine has more than one camera — a built-in one and a USB webcam, say — occo uses the first one the browser offers, which may not be the one you want. The camera check shows which camera it is using. To change it, open the site controls menu in the address bar, or go to Chrome Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Camera, choose the camera you want, and reload. If occo still picks the other one, unplug it, or turn it off, while you play.

Checking the camera

occo has a camera check that shows exactly what the camera sees and how smoothly tracking runs, without opening an activity.

Open the account menu and choose Settings.
Choose Advanced Settings, and open the Advanced Settings section at the bottom of the page.
Under Camera check, press Open camera check.

It shows the live picture and the camera’s name, and a line that reads Running smoothly, A little slow or Too slow for smooth play. When the camera cannot start, it says why instead — Camera is blocked, No camera found or Camera is busy — and what to do about it.

Nothing responds to movement

Work down the list. Reload the page after each change.

Is the camera on in occo? The camera button at the top left of the activity is green when it is. A red Camera blocked button means occo cannot get a picture; see above.
Is another app holding the camera? Video calls are the usual offender. Quit Zoom, Teams, FaceTime, or Photo Booth entirely — not just the window — and reload.
Is the lens covered? Privacy shutters and stickers are easy to forget, and a covered camera looks exactly like a broken one.
Is the permission actually granted? Check the site controls menu again, and look for the camera indicator light on your device.
Is the USB webcam plugged in properly? Try a different port, and avoid unpowered hubs.
Is the room dark? Cameras need light. A dim room is lovely for a calm scene and difficult for tracking — turn a lamp on and see if it wakes up.
Is it the activity? Not every activity uses movement. Try one you know answers movement, like Paint with hands or Splash water, before concluding the camera is broken — or open the camera check.

The first camera scene takes a moment

The first time you use a camera activity on a device, the browser downloads the motion-tracking model files it needs from occo’s own site — around 20 megabytes for the first one. That happens once and is then kept by the browser, so the first run can be slower than every run after it.

Tracking is jumpy or unreliable

Add light — especially light on your child’s face rather than behind them.
Move back from the screen so more of the body is in view.
Simplify what is behind them. A busy, cluttered, or high-contrast background gives the tracking more to sort through.
Close other apps and tabs. Motion tracking and 3D rendering are both running on your machine at once, so a busy computer shows up as stuttery tracking. The requirements page has the full performance checklist.
Wipe the lens. It is always worth ruling out.