Microsoft has confirmed that in Windows 11,Any artificial intelligence agent must obtain explicit permission from the user before accessing six common folders stored by the user: desktop, documents, downloads, music, pictures and videos. Users can also set file access permissions individually for different agents.
Earlier news pointed out that although Microsoft said that AI agents run in an independent and permission-restricted environment, the system will still grant them the ability to access the above-mentioned six folders by default, and did not explain whether users can manage this permission independently. In response, Microsoft quickly updated its official support document to clarify.
Windows Latest reported that in preview version 26100.7344 and later, AI agents cannot access user personal files by default.When an agent (such as Copilot assistant, research assistant, etc.) needs to read a file to perform a task, the system will pop up a request window, and the user can choose "Always allow", "Allow only once" or "Not allowed temporarily".
In addition, Microsoft provides an independent settings page for each AI agent. The path is: Settings-System-Artificial Intelligence Components-Intelligent Agent. On this page, users can not only manage file access permissions, but also control the agent's access permissions to connectors such as OneDrive and Google Drive, as well as system applications such as File Explorer and System Settings.
For access to six commonly used folders, users can set three types of permissions:
Always allowed: The agent can access it at any time;
Each inquiry: User confirmation is required before each visit;
Never Allow: Completely disable access.
It should be noted that the current permission settings are still based on six folders as an overall unit. Users cannot individually specify the agent to access one of the folders. They can only choose "allow all" or "deny all".
Microsoft also added in the document,The agent can only access folders that are accessible to all authenticated users (such as public user profiles); unshared folders are not within its scope.
The clarification of this permission management mechanism can be seen as a balance between Microsoft's promotion of AI integration and the protection of user privacy, returning the final decision-making power of file access to the user's hands.
