Privacy and Windows 10 App permissions confusion

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I’m not sure I fully understand the impact of switching App permissions off..or maybe I’m overthinking it.

Under Settings > Privacy and looking under the “App permissions” section on the left-hand side of the page. There is a list of all of Windows’ hardware, capabilities and features that apps can access if they’re given permission — location, camera, microphone, notifications, account info, contacts and so on.

Click any of the listed items — for example, Microphone. At the top of the page that appears, you can turn off access to the microphone for all apps. This acts like a master switch.  Below that you’ll see a listing of all the apps with access to the microphone, where you can control access on an app-by-app basis. Any app with access has a slider that is set to On. To stop any app from having access, move the slider to Off.

Question.

What are the consequences of using the main top {Master} switch and denying all access?

For example,  turning off “File System” or access?  Would this then break applications like Word, Excel or a image editor….not allowing them to access saved files?  Or, turning off camera, would this break Zoom usage?

• Appreciate any clarification or comments.

 

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If you don’t mind reading a bit, there is some useful info in a thread over here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-10/regarding-windows-10-file-system-access-and-privacy/m-p/1959338

As I understand it, the file system permissions in the Settings app’s Privacy area apply to UWP apps that come with Windows or from the Microsoft Store, and not Win32 (desktop) programs that you install from a download or physical media. So, turning off the master switch for file system access isn’t going to prevent Word or Excel from working with documents or stop your image editor from working with photos (unless maybe that editor came from the MS Store). I’ve always had that master switch off.

For camera access, though, allowing desktop apps is treated as a subset of allowing (UWP) apps. So if you turn off the master switch, you block both, which would include Zoom. (I just tested this on my work PC.) So for Zoom, the “Allow apps to access your camera” switch would have to stay on, as well as the “Allow desktop apps to access your camera” switch. Then you’d have to turn off the switches for individual UWP apps you don’t want touching the camera.

Under “App permissions” in Privacy, the only ones I leave on are camera and microphone access. I basically don’t use UWP apps, except Calculator.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Deo, Mike

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Appreciate the explanation (2nd para, 1st line). I have all turned off except for ‘security’ on files, even though I use a 3rd party d/loaded software tending to that and defender is not needed. I presume I can now turn that off. Thank you!

PS I highlighted/quoted only one line of your post on ipad yet it quoted the whole thing without allowing me to select that line nor scroll above and see any posts to perform any edit on my reply. Has in the past, sorry

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