How to See Which Apps Are Using Your Microphone or Camera in Windows 11

Smartphones aren’t the only devices that come with built-in cameras and microphones. You can also find them in many modern Windows laptops and computers. While these additions are useful for making video calls or having online voice chats with friends, many users also have privacy concerns related to apps accessing and using their microphone and camera.

This guide explains how to check microphone or camera usage in Windows 11, so you know exactly which apps have access.

How to See Which Apps Use Camera

Let’s first focus on the camera, and see how you can check which app is using camera at any time and view a full list of apps with permission to access your device’s camera.

Step 1. Open the Settings menu by pressing the Windows and I keys at the same time, or using the Start menu shortcut.

Step 2. Click on “Privacy & security,” and then scroll down to the “App permissions” section.

Step 3. Click on “Camera” to see a full list of all apps that have access to your camera. On this page, you also have the ability to toggle those permissions on or off for each individual app, or to turn camera access off entirely.

How to Check Which Apps Can Access Your Mic

Next, we’ll move on to the microphone. As you’ll see, the process for checking which apps have access to your microphone is more or less the same as for the camera, but with one slight difference.

Step 1. Open the Settings. You can do this by pressing “Windows” and “I” together.

Step 2. Click on “Privacy & security” in the sidebar menu, then scroll down to the “App permissions” section, which lists various permissions for your device.

Step 3. Find and click on the “Microphone” option. You’ll see a list of all apps that can access your mic. You can also toggle those permissions on or off, as desired.

How to Check Microphone or Camera Usage in Windows 11

Lastly, you might also want to see which apps have actually accessed your device’s camera or mic recently. Fortunately, Windows 11 keeps a seven-day record, so you can see all mic/camera usage for the past week by following these steps.

Step 1. Go to the Settings menu by pressing the “Windows” and “I” keys at the same time.

Step 2. Select “Privacy & security” and scroll down to the “App permissions” area.

Step 3. Click on either “Camera” or “Microphone,” depending on which you want to see the recent activity for. Then, scroll down and click the section marked “Recent activity.” If you have any recent activity related to the camera/microphone in the last seven days, a record of it will display here.