New Windows 11 feature lets users see which apps have accessed their camera, phone and contacts

Windows 11 gets additional privacy features from Microsoft.
Microsoft said future versions of Windows 11 will have more security upgrades. These enhancements would offer improved encryption, provide additional protection against cybersecurity threats, and block malicious apps and drivers.
Just recently, Windows 11 added a new privacy feature that allows users to see a list of all apps that have recently accessed their sensitive information and devices. These apps may include the user’s camera, microphone, and contacts, which can be seen in the Privacy and Security section of Settings.
Windows 11 feature
Microsoft’s Windows 11 Enhanced Privacy was included in one of the preview builds of Windows 11 released in June, and Windows Insiders can now put it to the test in the Dev Channel.
In addition to keeping tabs on requests to access a user’s contact list, the new privacy tool also keeps tabs on apps that have, in the past seven days, accessed sensitive information. about a user’s location, phone calls, messages, and screenshots.
According to BleepingComputer, users will be able to access the newly implemented feature in Privacy & Security > App Permissions and there a “Recent Activity” button will be available. This will be the section where users can find their tracked information category.
Then, “When clicked, it will show every instance of any of the apps installed on a user’s system that has recently accessed sensitive devices and information.”
However, even though the list contains details about when the application last accessed the resource, clicking on one of the entries reveals no additional information.
With this added layer of privacy, many users will be able to actively protect themselves against cyber threat activities unknowingly deployed by malicious actors. In some cases, malware or rogue apps can gain access to a user’s privacy by spying on their camera or microphone usage, or through file paths, process IDs, and process names.
In its Windows Insider blog, Microsoft has yet to officially release this new privacy feature. However, that announcement came from Microsoft vice president for enterprise and operating systems security David Weston’s tweet on Thursday.
In a tweet, Weston said, “New privacy auditing features in Windows 11 let you see access history for sensitive devices like the microphone.”
Windows 11’s new privacy audit features let you see the history of access to sensitive devices like the microphone pic.twitter.com/vq3IJkAIMO
— David Weston (DWIZZZLE) (@dwizzzleMSFT) June 16, 2022
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Windows 11 Camera Settings
To allow apps in Windows 11 to use the camera, users will need to enable certain rights in the camera settings. Users will need to check the permissions associated with each app. If some apps are accessing their camera that users don’t feel comfortable with, they can turn off the permission in the settings.
Here’s how to do it, according to Microsoft:
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To enable access to the camera, go to the Start menu, then select Settings, then Privacy and security, and finally Camera. Any user with access to the device can use this setting to determine whether or not they want apps to have access to the camera.
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Once the user gives their app permission to use the camera, then they can start adjusting the settings of each app after granting the permission. Users can select the app they want and then enable the camera access setting for that app.
However, users who do not see a certain program in the list should consider the possibility that the application in question is a desktop application. Users cannot adjust camera access settings for individual desktop applications.
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