Windows 10 Settings (Privacy)

This privacy settings section has to do with setting the windows and application permissions for your computer system.

WINDOWS PERMISSIONS

Windows permissions are various settings to allow certain functionality in your computer system.

(i) General

This is the first settings here which includes general permissions such as: Letting applications used ID to make advertising more interesting, letting websites provide locally relevant content by accessing the language, letting windows track app launch and showing suggested contents in settings app. These options can be turned ON by clicking on the switch button below them.

(ii) Speech

In this settings page, you can turn ON the option for using your voice for dictation and other purposes online by clicking on the switch button.

As rightly stated here, even if this option is OFF, you can still use the windows speech recognition application or other speech application that is not dependent on whether this option is turned ON or OFF.

When this option is ON, Under the heading (Help make online speech recognition better) you can start contributing voice clips by clicking on the button Start contributing my voice clips. As stated in the description before this, when you use this option everyday it will help improve the accuracy of Microsoft's online speech technology for anyone that speaks the same language with you.

The last heading here is (How we protect your privacy). Under this heading you will find two ways of how your privacy is being protected related to this particular option.
The first is that voice clips are not connected to you and if they are connected to you, it will be deleted. The second way is that the voice clips are only used by the Microsoft employees and vendor to improve the speech technology.
Lastly here, at the bottom there is a link Learn more about how contributing voice clips works. If you are eager to know about how your contribution of voice clips works, you can click on that link, and it will take you to the webpage where you will find that information.

(iii) Inking and Typing Personalization

In this setting page, you can turn ON this option which allow windows to use your typing history and pattern to create your personal dictionary that helps you to make good suggestions.
Note that as rightly stated in this settings page, turning OFF this option will not affect the standard dictionary in windows.
Click on the switch button to turn ON/OFF this option.

Below this, you can click on the link View your personal dictionary which will take you to another page displaying your dictionary. In this page, you will also find the Clear your personal dictionary button which when clicked on, clears everything you have on your personal dictionary

(iv) Diagnostics and Feedback

In this settings page, the very first thing here is to choose how much diagnostic data you are sending to Microsoft.

Under the heading (Diagnostic Data) you can click to choose which diagnostic option you want (Required diagnostic data and Optional diagnostic data). From the description below each option, choosing the Required diagnostic data option only sends information about the device, its settings and capabilities. But choosing the Optional diagnostic data option sends information about the website or webpage that you visit, your usage of applications and other features and also information about the device health and activities.
Note that you can only improve inking and typing if the option is chosen, else if you choose the required diagnostic option you inking and typing setting option in this setting page will be disabled.

The next heading here is (Improving inking and typing) you can switch ON the option to be able to send inking and typing diagnostic data to Microsoft in order to improve the language recognition and suggestion capabilities.

The next heading is the (Tailored Experience). Under this heading you can click on the switch button to turn it ON and get a tailored experience.
Under the heading (View Diagnostic Data) you can switch ON this option so that you will be able to view your diagnostic data.
When this option is ON, you can click on the button Open Diagnostic Data Viewer that will take you to Microsoft store from which you can follow the steps in viewing the diagnostic data.

Next is the heading (Delete Diagnostic Data). Under this heading, the Delete button when clicked on, deletes the diagnostic data.
According the brief description there once you click on this button, Microsoft will start deleting data from your system.

Lastly here, under the heading (Feedback Frequency) you can click on the selection option you want on how windows should ask for your feedback. (Automatically, Always, Once a Day, Once a Week, Never).

After this selection option the link Share your opinion about Feedback Hub survey notification when clicked on takes you to the Feedback hub application where you can share your opinion about the feedback hub survey notification.
Also to get more information about your diagnostic and feedback settings, click on the last link here: Learn more about Diagnostic and feedback settings. (Here you will need data connection for the webpage to open in your default browser).

(v) Activity History

The activity history settings page is where you can enable option to save and store activity history.
Under the first heading here (Activity History) you can enable the option to store your activity on your device by clicking on the checkbox. (By default the checkbox is already checked, so there might be no need clicking on it again).
Here you can also enable the option to send the activity history to Microsoft by doing the same (clicking on the checkbox).

The second heading here in this setting page is the (Show activities from these account). Under this heading you can switch ON the which email account you want their activities to be shown in your system.

Lastly, under the heading (Clear Activity) there is a Clear button, which is used to clear your activities from your account.
Lastly here, to go into the process of managing your Microsoft account activity data you can click on the link Manage my Microsoft account activity data which opens your default browser and displays the webpage you have to start with. (Note that you will need internet connection for this webpage to open).

A brief call back, note that some of the settings pages that have been explained in this section, at the right side, you will find links that are helpful. These links have already been looked into but you can try them out on any settings page you feel like.

APP PERMISSIONS

App permissions are those settings that needs to be enabled for an app to access certain hardware and software resources such as camera, microphone, contacts software application etc.

(i) Location

In this settings page, you can allow access to location on your device by clicking on the Change button which brings out a switch for you to turn ON/OFF your location on this device.

Next here is allowing apps to access your location. This can be done by clicking the switch button below the description

Under the heading (Default Location) you can set your default location by clicking on the button Set Default which will open your map application for you to choose your default location.

Location history can also be cleared from your computer by clicking on the Clear button under the heading (Location History)

The next here is choosing which application can access your location. This can be done by clicking the switch button beside them to turn it ON or OFF

Under the heading (Allow desktop apps to access your location) you can switch ON this option by clicking on the switch button.
Note that as you have seen, not all your application will appear for you to choose it to access your location. If you want to know why, you can click on the Find out why link below the switch button at the end of the brief description.

Lastly here is the Geofencing

If you have applications that uses geofencing you will be able to use it on your system.

(ii) Camera

In this settings page, you can allow access to camera on your device by clicking on the Change button which brings out a switch for you to turn ON/OFF your camera on this device.

Next here is allowing apps to access your camera. This can be done by clicking the switch button below the description
Note that other application might still be able to access your camera even if you dont allow it on this settings option. For you to know the reason why this happens, you can click on the link

The next here is choosing which application can access your camera. This can be done by clicking the switch button beside them to turn it ON or OFF

Under the heading (Allow desktop apps to access your camera) you can switch ON this option by clicking on the switch button.
Note that as you have seen, not all your application will appear for you to choose it to access your camera. If you want to know why, you can click on the Find out why link below the switch button at the end of the brief description.

(iii) Microphone

In this settings page, you can allow access to microphone on your device by clicking on the Change button which brings out a switch for you to turn ON/OFF your camera on this device.

Next here is allowing apps to access your microphone. This can be done by clicking the switch button below the description
Note that other application might still be able to access your camera even if you dont allow it on this settings option. For you to know the reason why this happens, you can click on the link Find out why

Under the heading (Choose which Microsoft App can access your microphone) you can switch ON this option by clicking on the switch button for the Microsoft app you want to allow to access your microphone

The next here is allowing desktop app to access your microphone. This can be done by clicking the switch. To know why some application might not be affected by these settings or are not listed above, you can click on the link there Find out why.

(iv) Voice Activation

Voice activation in this windows 10 settings is the process of allowing application to listen to voice keyword.

In this settings page, you can allow apps to use voice activation by clicking on the switch button below the heading (Allow apps to use Voice Activation)
Also under the section heading here, (Allow apps to use voice activation when this device is locked) you can click on the switch button to turn it ON. This option makes it possible for you to use voice activation even when you device is locked.

Under the next heading (Choose your default app for headset button press) you can as well switch ON this option by clicking on the button there. Read the description there for more details.

The last heading here is the (Choose which apps can use voice activation). By default, the Cortana is the selected application you will have to use for voice activation. You can switch ON the options below to let Cortana respond to keyword and also use Cortana when the device is locked. Click on the switch button for this.

(v) Notification

This setting page has to do with allowing access to user applications on your device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the notification for user application to access it.

Under the (Allow apps to access your notification) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

(vi) Account Info

This setting page has to do with allowing access to accounts on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the account info access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to access your account info) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your account info by clicking on the switch button beside them, to turn ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can access your account info)

(vii) Contact

This setting page has to do with allowing access to contacts on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the contact access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to access your account contacts) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your contact by clicking on the switch button beside them to turn each ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can access your contacts)

(viii) Calendar

This setting page has to do with allowing access to calendar on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the calendar access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to access your calendar) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your calendar by clicking on the switch button beside them to turn each ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can access your calendar)

(ix) Phone Calls

In this settings page you can switch ON the option for allowing phone calls on your device
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the phone call access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to make phone calls) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused. Also, the last heading here is the (Choose which apps can make phone calls). You can read up the brief description below this heading. If there are option to choose apps that can make phone calls it will surely display here, but as you have seen there are none.

(x) Call History

This setting page has to do with allowing access to call history on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the call history access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to access your call history) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your call history by clicking on the switch button beside them to turn each ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can access your call history)

(xi) Email

This setting page has to do with allowing access to email on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the email access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to access your email) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your email by clicking on the switch button beside them to turn each ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can access your email)

(xii) Tasks

In this settings page you can switch ON the option for allowing access to tasks on your device
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the tasks access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to make tasks) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused. Also the last heading here is the (Choose which apps can make tasks). You can read up the brief description below this heading. If there are options to choose apps that can access tasks, it will surely display here, but as you have seen there are none.

(xiii) Messaging

This setting page has to do with allowing access to messaging on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the messaging access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to read or send messages) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your messaging by clicking on the switch button beside them to turn each ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can access your messaging)

(xiv) Radios

This setting page has to do with allowing access to control radios on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the radio control access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to control device radios) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your radios by clicking on the switch button beside them to turn each ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can control your device radios)

(xv) Other Devices

Here, you can turn ON the option for allowing other devices access this device. From the description here turning ON this option lets your applications automatically share and sync information with wireless devices such as Bluetooth devices and others.
Clicking on the Choose apps that can communicate with unpaired devices take you to another page your can perform this operation.
Remember that you need to let your apps use trusted devices only.

(xvii) Background Apps

This settings page is contains option to switch ON the option of running application in the background and choosing which application is being ran in the background. Running application in background means that those applications can receive notification and alerts while other programs are opened or currently active.
Under the heading (Background Apps) you can turn ON the option by clicking on the switch button. Also, under the heading (Choose which apps can run in the background) you can choose which application you want to run on the background by clicking on the switch button beside them

(xviii) Apps Diagnostics

This setting page has to do with allowing access to application diagnostics information on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the app diagnostics access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to access diagnostics info about your apps) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your app diagnostics information by clicking on the switch button beside them to turn each ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can access diagnostics info about other apps)

(xix) Automatic File Downloads

From the description in this settings page, you can automatically download online-only files from your online storage provider if any application requests for them.
If any of the application here is blocked from downloading files you can unblock them by clicking on the Allow button. If no application is blocked from downloading online-only files, the allow button won't be active for you to click on.

(xx) Documents

This setting page has to do with allowing access to document library on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the documents access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to access your document library) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your document library by clicking on the switch button beside them to turn each ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can access your document library)

(xxi) Pictures

This setting page has to do with allowing access to picture library on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the picture access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to access your picture library) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your picture library by clicking on the switch button beside them to turn each ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can access your picture library)

(xxii) Videos

This setting page has to do with allowing access to video library on this device.
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the videos access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to access your video library) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused.

After this option above, the next thing here to do is choosing which application can access your video library by clicking on the switch button beside them to turn each ON or OFF. The option is located under the heading (Choose which apps can access your video library)

(xxiii) File System

In this settings page you can switch ON the option for allowing access to file system on your device
Here you can do this by clicking on the Change button which brings out a box where you can switch ON the tasks access for this device.

Under the (Allow apps to access your file system) you can turn this option ON by clicking on the switch button. Make sure to read up the description just in case you are confused. Also the last heading here is the (Choose which apps can access your file system). You can read up the brief description below this heading. If there are options to choose apps that can access file system, it will surely display here, but as you have seen there are none.