---
title: "Windows 11 to gain per-app camera and microphone blocking for each Win32 application"
description: "An experimental Windows 11 build (26340.9212) from August 17, 2026, was found to include a feature for per-app camera and microphone blocking for Win32 applications. Microsoft has not officially announced the change."
date: 2026-08-19T23:43:14.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/windows-11-per-app-camera-microphone-blocking-for-win32-applications
tags: [windows-11, privacy, win32, camera-access, microsoft, windows-insider]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Windows 11 to gain per-app camera and microphone blocking for each Win32 application

![Windows 11 logo on the official blue wallpaper — new per-app camera and microphone blocking for Win32 applications](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/20/windows-11-blokirovka-kamery-i-mikrofona-dlya-win32-prilozheniy/windows-11-blokirovka-kamery-i-mikrofona-dlya-win32-prilozheniy-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Build Windows Insider 26340.9212 (Canary, Aug 17, 2026) was found to include a feature for blocking the camera and microphone for each Win32 application.
- Previously, per-app permission control was available only for UWP/MSIX applications, not for classic Win32 programs.
- Microsoft did not mention the change in the official release notes for the build, so the announcement is unofficial.
- If testing is successful, the feature may become available to all Windows 11 users in upcoming updates.

Microsoft is once again expanding the privacy tools in Windows 11. In the latest experimental Windows Insider build, numbered 26340.9212, which began rolling out to program participants in the Canary channel on August 17, 2026, a new feature has been discovered: users will now be able to block access to the camera and microphone for each individual Win32 application. Until now, the system only allowed managing permissions for UWP/MSIX packaged apps, leaving "desktop" programs outside the scope of privacy settings.

### What changed in build 26340.9212

The key innovation concerns Win32 applications specifically — classic "desktop" programs that make up the vast majority of software installed on PCs. Previously, if a user needed, say, to allow the Chrome browser to use the webcam, they had to grant access to all desktop applications at once. The new option, found in the experimental build, allows assigning camera and microphone permissions on a per-app basis — for each specific Win32 application. This effectively brings the granularity of privacy management up to the level that has long been the standard in the iOS and Android mobile ecosystems.

### Why this matters: Win32 vs. UWP/MSIX

The mechanism for granting or denying camera and microphone access has existed in Windows for many years, but its application was limited to UWP/MSIX applications — so-called "packaged" programs from the Microsoft Store. For Win32 applications, which include, for example, Discord, Google Chrome, the Steam platform, and many other popular programs, such per-app control was previously unavailable. This is precisely why the discovered feature is seen as a significant step forward: it closes a major gap in the privacy system of a desktop OS, where most installed software runs in the Win32 format.

### How it works now and what will change

In current stable versions of Windows 11, a user can enable or disable camera and microphone access for individual applications of a certain type, but the choice is limited to UWP/MSIX packages. After the tested change is implemented, the privacy settings panel will likely display a list of specific Win32 programs, for each of which camera and microphone use can be individually allowed or blocked. This will allow, for example, keeping camera access for video conferencing while simultaneously blocking it for a third-party app that requests the device without an obvious need.

### Timeline and outlook

Build 26340.9212 was distributed to Windows Insider program participants in the experimental (Canary) channel on August 17, 2026. As of the time of writing — August 20, 2026 — the feature is in closed testing. If the trials go well and no critical compatibility issues are found, the expanded permission-management capabilities may be moved to more stable channels and, ultimately, become available to all Windows 11 users in upcoming updates.

### Conflicting data

There is one significant caveat that is important to keep in mind. Microsoft has not yet mentioned this change in the official release notes for the latest Windows Insider build. In other words, the feature was discovered and described based on analysis of the build itself, rather than confirmed by a public release announcement from the company. On the one hand, the presence of toggles in the build's interface is direct technical evidence of development; on the other — without official release notes, it cannot be stated with 100% certainty that the feature will reach stable versions without changes or cancellation. Thus, the innovation is technically confirmed but not officially confirmed.

In any case, the discovered mechanism indicates that Microsoft is steadily bringing the Windows 11 privacy model up to the level familiar to mobile platform users. For PC owners who work daily with dozens of applications requesting camera and microphone access, per-app control will be a noticeable strengthening of personal data protection.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Windows 11 to block camera and microphone for each application window-new](https://3dnews.ru/1147106/windows-11-nauchitsya-blokirovat-kameru-i-mikrofon-dlya-kagdogo-prilogeniya) - Первичный источник: сборка 26340.9212 в Canary-канале от 17.08.2026, функция не упомянута в официальных примечаниях Microsoft.
- [Android smartphone can now lock a Windows 11 PC — but not unlock it](https://3dnews.ru/1134173/androidsmartfon-teper-moget-zablokirovat-pk-s-windows-11-no-ne-razblokirovat) - Первичный источник: сборка 26340.9212 в Canary-канале от 17.08.2026, функция не упомянута в официальных примечаниях Microsoft.
- [Windows 11 will allow per-app disconnection of programs from camera and microphone](https://auto.rambler.ru/news/56929078-windows-11-pozvolit-poshtuchno-otluchat-programmy-ot-kamery-i-mikrofona/) - Совпадает по сути: поштучное управление доступом Win32-программ к камере и микрофону в Windows 11.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What exactly is the new feature in Windows 11?
**A:** In experimental build 26340.9212, the ability to block camera and microphone access for each individual Win32 application was discovered, rather than for all desktop programs at once.

### Q: Why is this innovation significant?
**A:** Previously, per-app permission control worked only for UWP/MSIX applications, while most popular programs (Chrome, Discord, Steam) are Win32 applications that lacked such control.

### Q: When was the feature released and in which channel?
**A:** Build 26340.9212 began rolling out to Windows Insider participants in the experimental (Canary) channel on August 17, 2026.

### Q: Did Microsoft officially confirm this change?
**A:** No, the change is not mentioned in the official release notes for the latest Windows Insider build — the feature was discovered based on analysis of the build itself.

### Q: Will the feature become available to all users?
**A:** If testing in the Canary channel goes well, the expanded permission-management capabilities may become available to all Windows 11 users in upcoming updates.