![Windows 11 Logo](/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/20220704_62c2b61001e4f.png)
iPhones, iPads, and Android devices all record which apps access sensitive data (like cameras), but Windows PCs can’t easily do the same. Thankfully, Microsoft might change that soon.
BleepingComputer spotted a new feature in a recent Windows 11 Preview Build in the Dev Channel, accessible to Windows Insider testers, which records when apps access sensitive information. The current list in the Settings app (under Privacy & security > App permissions) includes apps that access your camera, microphone, and contacts.
![image of a privacy page in the Windows 11 settings](/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/20220704_62c2b610a978a.png)
Windows also tells you what time the data was accessed, so you can tell if an app is doing something in the background that it shouldn’t. For example, if a messaging app accesses your camera while you’re not on a call, that could be a bad sign (or at least an indication of a worrying bug).
Unfortunately, the privacy access list in Windows 11 doesn’t track everything — at least, not yet. David Weston at Microsoft confirmed that the feature doesn’t monitor activity from drivers, so malicious apps still have a few ways to mask their activity.
Windows 10 and 11 already have an indicator for when the microphone is in use, but a historical record of access is more helpful for figuring out which applications aren’t behaving properly over time. Apple has offered a similar feature on iPhones and iPads for a while, and Android 12 and newer has a ‘Privacy Dashboard’ with the same information.
Source: BleepingComputer, David Weston (Twitter)