Microsoft is preparing an update for Windows 11 that will help privacy-conscious users protect themselves from digital spyware across applications. According to a discovery by X user Jakub, the latest Experimental Insider Build v26340.9212 will allow Windows 11 users to manually turn off the camera and microphone for each Win32 application. This means that camera and microphone settings can now be applied on a per-application basis, as opposed to the previous global settings. For example, you can maintain permissions for Zoom or Teams while playing games but remove these permissions for Chrome or any other web browser to ensure your online privacy by having Windows directly cut off access to these apps.

Additionally, Windows Latest was able to reproduce these findings and discovered that this Experimental Insider Build also includes per-app settings for location. This is great news for anyone who actively blocks location services globally but needs them for specific applications like maps, which require location data for accuracy. Furthermore, permission prompts have been introduced, so every Win32 application will ask if you want to allow the use of the microphone, camera, or other resources the app requires, which is a welcome change. All of these permissions can later be adjusted in settings, and any permission can be revoked again.

As features in experimental builds roll out gradually, we expect to see this update in the stable preview within a few weeks, before it becomes available to consumers in a few months. For those concerned about Windows 11's telemetry, that remains a separate issue. However, users can now protect themselves from third parties until there is an official way to reduce telemetry and protect data from Microsoft itself.