How many apps on your computer can access your camera and microphone?
It’s probably not something you’ve checked recently.
Windows already gives you privacy controls for things like your camera, microphone and location, but there’s been an annoying limitation with some traditional desktop software.
Microsoft has been working on fixing that.
The change gives you much more control over which individual apps can access parts of your computer.
Let’s say you’ve got six applications installed that could potentially use your microphone.
You might be perfectly happy for Teams to use it because you’re on calls every day. Another application may have no good reason to be listening at all.
Being able to make a decision for each app individually seems wise.
Windows 11 has already offered this kind of control for apps downloaded through the Microsoft Store. The problem has been traditional Windows desktop applications, sometimes called Win32 apps.
For those, the controls have been much broader. You haven’t had the same ability to easily allow one desktop app while blocking another.
Microsoft has been testing changes that address this. It’s also been working on permission requests that will feel familiar if you use a smartphone. When an app wants to use something sensitive, like your camera or microphone, Windows can ask you whether you want to allow it.
That approach puts the decision in front of you at the moment you need to think about it.
If you’re opening video conferencing software and it asks to use your camera, the reason is obvious.
If an application you’ve barely thought about suddenly wants access to your microphone, you might want to know why.
These controls can also make it easier to be more deliberate about the software running on your computers and what it’s allowed to do.
You probably have a mixture of applications installed across your business. Some will be used constantly, while others may have been installed for one particular job and hardly touched since.
Giving every application access to more than it needs doesn’t make much sense.
The more control you have over which applications can access your camera, microphone and location, the easier it is to make sensible decisions about your privacy.
As with anything Microsoft tests in preview versions of Windows, the exact feature can change before it reaches the version you’re using. But the direction is a good one.
If you’d like help making sure your Windows 11 computers are properly configured, secure and making the most of the latest improvements, get in touch.