History of the Camera Phone

In 1999 the first ever phone with a camera in it was made by Sharp Corporation and was released in Japan in November of 2000. It allowed you to share your photos electronically and the quality was pretty good for the first of its kind. Here's what a picture taken on it looks like.
In November of 2002 the US hopped on this new trend and Sprint was the first company to start manufacturing and releasing these phones. By the end of 2003 they were big in the tech market, and were selling about as much as DVD players at that time. They were making it more accessible for people to capture important moments without needing to bring a chunky camera, and there's now the ability to share with others.
However, there have also been concerns with the use of cell phones with camera capabilities for secret photography, because people may be having their picture taken without knowledge and/or consent. Additionally, it makes the sharing of illegal photos faster and easier, and once they are out on the web, there is no getting them back. Another concern is that phones are able to be hacked and random hackers could be watching someone through their phone camera.
However, nowadays we don't think of the phone camera as something dangerous, but a part of everyday life. Some studies by Pew Research Center show that in 2014 about 92% of smartphone users used them to take photos, and 80% used their camera phones to share those photos. Cameras on phones have become interactive devices, whether they are used to video call friends and family, use a snapchat filter, scan a QR code, or used as the password on the newer iPhones. This shows a huge leap not only in the technology used, but comments on how much modern humans rely on these phone cameras in our everyday lives.
Although there's been a huge jump between Sharp Corporation's J-SH04, and the newest Google and Apple phones, the intent is still there. We now have the ability to capture important moments and share them with others, the only difference is that the quality of the camera has increased.

Sources:
https://petapixel.com/2015/02/12/importance-cameras-smartphone-war/
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/camera-phone-history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_phone#History