When Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg posted a photo earlier this week to mark Instagram’s 500th million user milestone, he probably didn’t imagine that what was going on in the background would garner more press attention than the actual quite significant social media occurrence.

But that’s what happened.

Yes, it seems that even the CEO of Facebook in the centre of his social media empire still likes to take his privacy seriously.

This is the news that when the Instagram salute picture was posted, some sharp eyed viewers noted what seems to be a thin layer of masking tape covering his MacBook camera and microphone.

But then it’s hardly surprising. While the tape may seem to some to be an unnecessary paranoid move, it actually makes a lot of sense.

Security experts have previously warned users of the importance of not keeping computers with webcams in their bedrooms and hackers can easily access webcams if they can gain access to people’s computers.

And it’s not like Zuckerberg doesn’t have cause to try and keep his private life private. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden released numerous documents that revealed that intercepting webcam footage was a commonplace activity by UK and US spy agencies between 2008-2010.

Smartly as well, it’s not just his webcam that Zuckerberg appears to have taped up, but also his microphone. Ambient noise and conversation can be easily recorded and monitored, especially given the high quality hardware commonly found in today’s hardware.

The digital rights advocacy group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation actively recommend that users take steps to protect themselves from being spied on from government agencies and organised cybersecurity criminals, stating that they regularly sold its dedicated webcam stickers. Of course, tape does the same thing, and at a fraction of the price….