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| Windows 11 lets you know which apps are spying on you |
Microsoft recently added a new privacy feature that allows Windows 11 users to get a list of all the apps that have recently accessed sensitive information and devices, including the camera, microphone, and contacts.
You can also monitor usage or see what these apps or tools are doing. These hardware features are important as they can be misused to monitor your location or what you're doing with your camera or microphone.
Microsoft is working on a new privacy dashboard for Windows 11 in the Settings app. The company has integrated the new panel into the Privacy and Security Settings page.
Device permissions can be a bit confusing in Windows 10 because Microsoft doesn't provide much information about using the app. You can see which app is using the microphone right in the taskbar. However, the list of apps previously accessed from the device's features cannot be displayed.
The feature was added to Windows Preview on June 11 and is now available for Windows Insiders to try on the Developer channel.
In addition to requests to access user contacts, a new privacy feature tracks which apps have accessed other sensitive information about your location, phone calls, messages and screenshots over the past week.
A list of these apps is available as a drop-down list under App Permissions via the Windows 11 Settings app. Tracking information is displayed for each category.
When you select a camera, you can view its recent activity by clicking on the drop-down menu. You can also use the menu to browse the timeline your camera is using. Likewise, you can monitor app request activity for other hardware features such as microphone or location.
The list contains information about the last time the application accessed the resource. However, clicking on each entry does not provide any additional information.
On your website you will find obvious things like using the Edge browser and using the microphone. However, you may see other things like a third party app secretly accessing the location while running in the background.
Microsoft has not officially introduced the new data protection functionality on the Windows Insider Blog. But the company's vice president of enterprise security and operating systems, David Weston, revealed the new feature in a tweet.
Microsoft is testing the privacy audit feature in Windows 11
Windows has never had such a useful privacy tool. But Microsoft appears to be taking steps to improve the operating system's privacy controls.
Microsoft is also studying new taskbar features for the operating system, including dynamic updates.
Microsoft has a bad reputation when it comes to Windows privacy, especially since the introduction of Windows 10.
Therefore, the software giant has taken a positive step in this regard, which will help Windows 11 users maintain the best possible level of security on their PC.
Microsoft also announced in April that Windows 11 will get better protection against targeted phishing attacks thanks to Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, Microsoft's cloud-based anti-phishing and antimalware service.
Another feature called Personal Data Encryption protects users' files and data by blocking access if they are not signed in until they are authenticated via Windows Hello.
Microsoft wants privacy to be turned on by default. They also want to provide additional protection for LSAs in Windows 11 Enterprise to further improve security in corporate environments.