Your phone knows a lot about you. It tracks your movements, browsing habits, downloads and more. Go here to see when your phone’s camera or microphone is being used.
You also have to worry about social media apps, voice assistants, and smart TVs that won’t listen and record what you have to say. To stop it, tap or click.
Phone apps ask for permission to access your camera, microphone, and location. You can go into your phone’s settings to grant or restrict these permissions. Did you know you can do the same for PC or Mac? Here’s how.
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How to Change Program Permissions in Windows
Windows has a privacy page where you can fiddle with program permissions. It only takes a few clicks.
Change program permissions in Windows 11
- Go to Start > Settings > Privacy & Security.
- Under Program permissionsselect an option (eg Accommodation). Then choose which apps can access it.
- You can also use Recent activity drop-down menu for each permission to show which apps have access to them.
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Change program permissions in Windows 10
- Go to Start > Settings > Privacy.
- Under Program permissionsselect an option (eg Microphone). Then choose which apps can access it.
The list includes many permissions, including access to your calendar, files and folders, email, music library, notifications, and webcam. Consider whether the app really needs the level of access it requests by default.
See a full list of app permissions and what they allow access to here.
RELATED: If you have this popular file program on your Mac, uninstall it now.
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How to change app permissions in macOS
You receive a warning when a third-party program tries to access and control your Mac through accessibility features. You must specifically give the app access to your Mac Privacy and security settings.
You can go into settings to change permissions at any time. Here’s how:
- Open it Apple menu and choose System Settings > Privacy & Security.
- A list of program permissions will appear on the screen, for example Location servicesshowing which programs have access to which permissions.
- Click any permission to see the apps that have access to it. Use the toggle switch to disable permissions for each app.
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Phone apps ask for permission to access your camera, microphone, and location before tracking you.
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