Apps will prompt users for access to certain features

Sep 14, 2017 06:14 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has made privacy in Windows 10 a priority, and after rolling out tweaks to data collection in the operating system, the company is now preparing to introduce more changes inspired by Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.

Starting with the Fall Creators Update launching on October 17, Windows 10 will start displaying prompts for new apps that require access to specific features like camera and microphone.

What’s important to know is that these app permissions prompts will only appear for apps that are installed after the Fall Creators Update, and users will be allowed to review the settings at any given moment from Start > Settings > Privacy.

Easier to read the Privacy Statement

Additionally, Microsoft is also adding quick access to the Privacy Statement during the initial setup process, while Learn More links will be displayed in the device settings screen to quickly jump to information regarding location, speech recognition, diagnostics, and ads.

“You no longer need to sift through the privacy statement if you only want to read about a specific feature, simply click the Learn More button for easy access,” Microsoft explains.

“We want you to have all the information about your privacy setting options readily available so that you can make an informed decision about your privacy and how your data is used.”

Enterprise users will get a new setting that limits diagnostic data collection to the minimum required for Windows Analytics, which means only the very essential information would be stored for insights.

These features will debut with the Fall Creators Update in October, but insiders should start seeing them in preview builds released as part of the Windows Insider program in the coming weeks. A new build is expected to ship very soon, as the Fall Creators Update is already in the final development stages, and the privacy changes will most certainly be announced in the release notes.