Windows 11 privacy controls for individual desktop applications are now in active testing, giving users the ability to grant or revoke camera, microphone, and precise location access on a per-app basis for the first time. The feature is shipping in Insider Experimental Preview Build 26340.9233, and it marks a meaningful break from the way Windows has historically handled these permissions.
Until now, traditional desktop applications on Windows 11 were managed through a single device-wide toggle. You either trusted the whole category or you didn’t. The new model changes that by letting each app be reviewed independently under Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera, Microphone, or Location, where dedicated toggles control access for every installed desktop app separately.
‘Windows Insiders can now manage camera, microphone, and location permissions for individual desktop apps,’ Microsoft explained. ‘With this update, you can review and control access on an app-by-app basis, giving you greater visibility into which apps are requesting access to sensitive resources and more control over your privacy choices.’
Windows 11 privacy controls: what changes and what stays the same
One detail worth noting for anyone already running desktop apps with permissions in place: existing decisions are not wiped. According to WinAero, apps that were previously granted access to the camera, microphone, or location will retain that access. Users are not being asked to re-authorise everything from scratch.
Microsoft did add a caveat for users managing these settings going forward. Some apps using shared system components, browser-hosted experiences, or similar technologies may appear under an unfamiliar name or show as unsigned if Windows cannot verify the publisher’s information. The advice is straightforward: only grant access to apps you trust and recognise.
The same build also carries a cosmetic update that is easy to overlook. WinAero reports that the AutoPlay dialogue for external devices has been refreshed with a WinUI-based design, bringing better dark mode support, improved scaling, and access to the Notification Centre. Small changes, but the kind that signal Microsoft is steadily bringing older Windows UI elements into line with its modern design language.
Part of a broader shift toward smartphone-style permissions
This Insider build does not arrive in isolation. Back in February, Microsoft announced plans to introduce smartphone-style permission prompts across Windows 11, the kind of ‘allow or deny’ dialogue that mobile users have lived with for years, applied to the desktop. The idea is that apps would need to request user consent before accessing sensitive hardware or data, rather than inheriting whatever device-wide setting was already in place.
Windows Platform engineer Logan Iyer laid out the reasoning at the time. ‘Users will have transparency and consent control over how apps access their personal data and device features,’ Iyer said. ‘They will receive clear prompts to grant or deny apps permission to access protected data and hardware. Users will also be able to revoke permissions they have previously granted.’
The impetus, Iyer explained, was apps increasingly installing unwanted software, overriding settings, or modifying core Windows experiences without any prior user consent, a pattern that the new security model is designed to interrupt.
These per-app Windows 11 privacy controls sit under two named initiatives: ‘Windows Baseline Security Mode’ and ‘User Transparency and Consent’. Both are being rolled out in a phased approach, with Microsoft planning to adjust the controls and the pace of the rollout based on Insider feedback. Users wanting to follow that process can track developments through the Windows Insider Programme.
Build 26340.9233 is experimental, which means the feature set is deliberately unstable and subject to change. That is the point of the Insider channel: ship early, break things in a controlled environment, and iterate before anything reaches the general Windows 11 population.
