Email privacy settings is part of the Settings application which allows you to customize your email conversation access permissions for apps and users. Recent Windows 10 builds can be configured to allow or deny access to your email data for installed apps and the operating system itself. Only if allowed, the OS and installed apps will be able to read it.
Starting with Windows 10 build 17063, the OS has got a number of new options under Privacy. These include the ability to control usage permissions for your Library/data folders, microphone, calendar, user account info, file system, location, contacts, call history, and more. One of the new options allows managing access permissions for the email. The user can revoke access completely for certain apps or the entire OS.
Windows 10 comes with a Universal app, "Mail". The app is intended to provide basic email functionality to Windows 10 users. It supports multiple accounts, comes with preset settings to quickly add mail accounts from popular services, and includes all the essential functionality to read, send and receive emails.
Tip: One of the features of the Mail app in Windows 10 is the ability to customize the app's background image. See the following article:
Change Mail App Background to Custom Color in Windows 10.
When you disable Email access for the entire operating system, it will be automatically disabled for all apps as well. When enabled, it will allow users to disable Email access permissions for individual apps.
To disable access to Email in Windows 10, do the following.
- Open the Settings app.
- Go to Privacy - Email.
- On the right, click on the button Change. See the screenshot.
- In the next dialog, turn off the toggle option under Email access for this device.
This will disable access to your Email conversations in Windows 10 for the operating system and apps. Windows 10 won't be able to use it any more. None of your installed apps will be able to process its data.
Instead, you might want customize Email access permissions for individual apps.
Disable app access to Email in Windows 10
Note: This assumes that you've enabled access to your Email data using the option described above. So, users will be able to disable or enable Email access for the installed apps.
There is a special toggle option which allows quickly disabling or enabling Email access for all apps at once. Unlike the option described above, it won't block the operating system from using your conversation data.
To disable app access to Email in Windows 10, do the following.
- Open the Settings app.
- Go to Privacy - Email.
- On the right, disable the toggle switch under Allow app access to your email. When access is allowed for the operating system as described above, all apps get access permissions by default.
- In the list below, you can control Email for certain apps individually. Every listed app has its own toggle option which you can enable or disable.
You are done.
Articles of interest:
- How to View App Permissions in Windows 10
- How to Reset the Mail App in Windows 10
- Change Mail App Background to Custom Color in Windows 10
- Add Email Context Menu in Windows 10
- How To Disable Sent from Mail for Windows 10 Signature
That's it.
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