Windows 11 Users Getting ‘Privacy Auditing’ to Look at Apps Accessing Microphone, Camera, Location Data

Windows 11 Users Getting ‘Privacy Auditing’ to Look at Apps Accessing Microphone, Camera, Location Data

‘Privacy Auditing’ is a new feature in Windows 11 that allows users to see which programs are accessing their microphone, camera, and location data. Microsoft first made the capability available to app developers for testing purposes. It will, however, be accessible to Windows 11 users in the future, allowing them to choose whether or not they want to keep using the programs that are accessing their sensitive data on the system. Microsoft’s service sounds a lot like Apple’s App Privacy Report, which was released last year for iPhone and iPad customers.

Dave Weston, Microsoft’s Vice President of Enterprise and OS Security, announced the availability of Windows 11’s Privacy Auditing. According to the executive, the functionality allows users to see the history of sensitive device access.

Privacy Auditing was made available for testing in a Windows 11 Preview release earlier this month, according to Bleeping Computer.

According to the current version of Privacy Auditing, users may check records of sensitive data access from the previous week. It identifies the programs that have access to sensitive user data, such as location and screenshots.

The functionality may be accessed by navigating to Settings > Privacy & security > App permissions for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel who are running the qualifying Windows 11 Preview release.

Apple released iOS 15.2 in December, which includes the App Privacy Report, which allows users to see which applications access personal data, such as location, contacts, camera, and microphone, and how frequently they do so. The functionality first appeared in iPadOS 15.2 at the time.

Apple, on the other hand, has yet to make the privacy-conscious option accessible to Mac customers. It is unknown whether the functionality will be available on macOS in the future. Windows 11 Users Getting ‘Privacy Auditing’ to Look at Apps Accessing Microphone, Camera, Location Data