Itโs no secret that some applications are a little too interested in us and what weโre doing.
Weโve all had this experience. You might be talking to a friend about a new product that youโd like to try. Or perhaps youโve discussed somewhere youโd like to visit.
Then the next time you go online you see adverts for the exact things you were talking about.
Itโs more than a coincidence, surely???
Until recently, we havenโt had a lot of control over what information our apps are gathering about us.
Android and iOS first stepped up to give us more power over our online privacy. We were given the ability to control which apps could access our data, and sensitive things like our camera and microphone.
But while itโs easy to think of this only being an issue with phonesโฆ laptops have the same problems.
So, hereโs some great news. Microsoftโs testing a new feature in Windows 11 to put the power back in our hands.
Itโs currently testing a new feature โ called Privacy Auditing โ which allows you to see which applications have been accessing sensitive hardware, like your webcam and microphone.
Youโll also be able to see if your screenshots, messages, and even your contacts and location data have been accessed. And thereโs a log of which apps accessed this info, and when.
When launched, the feature will be available in your Privacy & Security menu, under App Permissions.
There youโll be able to see a full list of whatโs been accessed, by which app, and when. It should become your first port of call if you suspect any suspicious activity is taking place on your device.
When the feature is released, it will be a great tool to check periodically to help you avoid malicious activity and to make sure your sensitive data remains in the right hands.
In the meantime, if youโd like someone to look over the data permissions on your businessโs devices, get in touch.