How to Change the Way an App Accesses Your Data in Windows

Windows PCs – like any other computer – run on data. They use data to work properly, improve your experience, and run apps. And the apps themselves rely on some form of data access. But the data isn’t just important to your computer. It’s valuable to you as well. It can hold sensitive information, impact your privacy, and affect your digital security. Control the access to your data, and you can keep it safer. This guide will show you how to change how an app accesses data in Windows.

How to Change How an App Accesses Data in Windows

Data access is a matter of privacy. So, the “Privacy” page is precisely where you need to go. Here’s how to reach it.

Step 1: Click on the “Start” button in the bottom-left corner of your screen.

Step 2: Select “Settings.”

Step 3: Go to the “Privacy” tab. If your computer runs Windows 11, this tab will be called “Privacy & security.”

If you look at the bottom part of the side panel, you’ll see all your Windows apps under the “App permissions” section.

You can click on those whose data access you want to review or change.

Here’s a brief overview of the type of data these apps can access.

• Location: Your device’s GPS or network-based location.
• Camera: Access to the webcam or external camera.
• Microphone: Permission to use your microphone for recording or communciation.
• Voice activation: Apps that can listen for voice commands.
• Notifications: Access to send or manage notifications.
• Account Info: Basic details about your Microsoft account.
• Contacts: Your saved contacts and address book.
• Calendar: Access to your scheduled events and appointments.
• Phone calls: Permission to make or manage calls.
• Call history: Records of incoming and outgoing calls.
• Email: Access to read or send emails.
• Tasks: Your to-do lists and scheduled tasks.
• Messaging: SMS or other text message access.
• Radios: Control over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other radio signals.
• Other devices: Communication with other devices like printers.
• Background apps: Permission to run in the background.
• App diagnostics: Information about an app’s performance and usage.
• Automatic file downloads: Control over downloading apps without asking.
• Documents: Access to your stored files.
• Pictures: Permission to view or modify your photos.
• Videos: Access to your video files.
• File system: Broad access to files and folders on your device.

Let’s say you want to change your “Location” access settings. Here’s what to do.

Step 1: Click on the “Location” app.

Step 2: Choose whether your Windows PC will have access to your location.

You can also give access to your location only to specific apps.

Step 3: Scroll down to the “Choose which apps can access your precise location” section.

Step 4: Adjust the individual location access to your liking. To do so, set the slider next to the app to on or off.

Can You Control Data Access for All Windows Apps?

Some Windows apps have unrestricted access to system resources. And there’s nothing you can do about it. These include the so-called Windows desktop apps – a type of application that runs using .EXE, .MSI, or .DLL files. These apps may even access personal information stored on your device without explicitly asking.

Now, you won’t see these apps listed in the “Privacy” app list. However, you can at least check which permissions the app has. To do this, you’ll have to visit its product page in the Microsoft Store or online.