The term "permissions" is often used in technology products, specifically software, to denote what users or apps can perform certain tasks. On Windows, permissions are a long-standing concept to some extent, though the idea of permissions has evolved a bit over time, and in Windows 11, there's more to it than what you may immediately think of. Here are a few things to know about Windows permissions.

Two types of permissions

File permissions and user data permissions

When you talk about permissions in Windows, there are two big distinct groups. First, there's the concept of file permissions, which has been around for decades. File permissions are attributed that can be added to files and folders to control which users can or can't access them. You can give specific users or user groups the ability to view, modify, or fully control a given file or folder, including managing permissions for other users. This is important in large corporate environments where sharing files over a network is crucial, but it's important to ensure that only the right people can access specific files.

Then there are user data permissions, which are less about the permissions a user has, but rather permissions that Windows and its apps have to access certain user data. You see this very frequently in operating systems like Android and iOS, too, and Windows has also embraced this concept. This allows users to control the data they share with apps and Windows, granting them more control over their digital privacy.

Windows file permissions are different from Linux

More granular user controls versus application controls

File permissions are an essential part of an operating system, especially when it comes to collaborating and sharing files. Both Windows and Linux have had file permission systems for a very long time, but the Linux implmentation is far older, and in some ways, more rudimentary.

The initial conception of the Linux permissions system had just three levels of permissions for each file or folder. There's the owning user, owning group, and then everyone. So if you want to control individual user access to a specific file or folder, you'd have to add that user to the owning group to give it the same permissions as that group, or leave that user with the same permissions as everyone else. In this aspect, Windows is much more fluid, since you can grant different permissions to any number of users or groups, so you can be much more flexible with the permissions you grant.

However, Linux has the concept of application-based folder access. Instead of controlling access to folders based on users, Linux allows you to set permissions based on individual applications, which makes sense in some scenarios. Linux is most popular in servers, so this structure makes more sense than implementing per-user permissions.

Some permissions are necessary

Certain features depend on your permissions

Turning over to user data permissions, it's important to note that some permissions are necessary for Windows to function as intended. There are permissions for all kinds of things, like location, microphone, and more, and these permissions are important to enable some Windows features.

For example, your weather forecasts may not work as intended if you disable location permissions for the Weather app (or collectively). Turning off online speech recognition will make certain voice recognition features unavailable (though things like dictation still work). The presence sensing permission will make it so your computer can't wake up when you approach it. Basically, you have to be aware that many permissions are required for some apps to function properly, so you shouldn't revoke all permissions without thinking about it.

Desktop apps don't ask for permissions

It's a modern thing

One flaw with the user data permissions model is that Windows has existed for far longer than this concept has. Back in the day, apps never had to ask to use your webcam and microphone, they would just work when you opened them. It was a potential privacy risk, but this wasn't always a concern, and importantly, it made the experience more seamless since you never had to worry about prompts.

So when modern versions of Windows came around and a permissions model started to be implemented, Microsoft knew that forcing these old desktop apps to adhere to the permissions model would break the experience for the vast majority of desktop users. As such, only modern Microsoft Store apps are designed around the permissions model and have to request permission to access things like your camera and microphone. All those classic desktop apps can still access these resources freely, with the only option you have being blocking all desktop apps from accessing it. That means if you want to block Zoom from accessing your webcam, you need to do the same for Microsoft Teams.

And, either way, you won't be asked to grant those permissions from the get-go, every desktop app can access them by default. Thankfully, apps like web browsers do have their own prompts for controlling microphone and webcam access, which adds an extra layer of security.

Additionally, Windows does log the apps that use those permissions, so you can at least track down apps that may be accessing your personal data without you knowing.

You can revoke permissions at any time

Permissions aren't set in stone

One last thing that's important to note is that granting permissions to an app is never a permanent thing. Windows 11 provides easy access to your privacy settings where you can easily change permissions for each app (simply open the Settings app and go to the Privacy & security section).

From this page, you can look at all kinds of user data that Windows and its apps may have access to, and disable access for each permission on a per-app basis, or disable that specific permission altogether. If you don't want any apps to use your location, you can turn that off entirely, or turn it back on when it makes sense. And, as mentioned above, you can also see a log of all the times apps have used their permissions in the past seven days to spot anything suspicious and determine whether you should turn off certain permissions or uninstall the app altogether.

Permissions give you control over your experience

Modern operating systems rely on permissions to give users full control over how their data is used to make the experience better, and Windows is no different. Not everyone wants their personal information to be accessed by every app on their computer, and having these controls is very important.

And of course, file and folder permissions are even more important. This system is what allows Windows to protect system files from being damaged by a user, and it also lets you protect sensitive files from users who shouldn't be able to see them. It's important to know about these features so you can ensure the security of your personal data and important files.