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Make sure websites are following your rules: How to check permissions
Hey, where do you live? Can I listen to what you say through your microphone? What about watching through your webcam? Send me all your contacts. Oh, and I’d like to send notifications anytime I feel like it and also watch what websites you visit and what you do there.
If that’s how websites asked for permission, I guarantee you’d say “No” a lot more often. They’re sneaky about it, though. Heck, you might not even realize you clicked “Yes” just to get a pop-up to go away.
Let’s double-check to make sure the sites you visit don’t overreach … because they’ll try.
Calling all my Windows and Android people
You probably use Google Chrome. First up, let’s take care of your computer:
- Click the three dots in the top right. Choose Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings.
- Click any permission, like Location, to see the sites with access to it. For most sites, location is a no-go for me. Buzz off!
Shortcut: If you’re curious about a certain site you have open in Chrome, click the icon on the left of the address bar (it looks like two toggle switches), then Site settings.
iPhones don’t handle permissions like this — it’s all or nothing for the browser app as a whole — but on Chrome for Android, you can tap the three dots, then Settings > Site settings to get to the permissions list.
On to the Apple-verse
This is for my Safari people. Start with your computer:
- Open the Safari menu > Settings > Websites to see a list of permissions.
- Click any permission, like Camera, to see sites with access. Zoom? Sure. A shopping site? Absolutely not.
Shortcut: Check permissions for any site you’ve got open in Safari. Click the Safari menu > Settings for… (it’ll have the site name listed). Click that to make changes.
For Safari on your iPhone, tap the icon to the left of the address bar. It may look like two A’s or a rectangle and lines. Then, tap Website Settings or the three dots. You’ll see all the permissions as a list. Be choosy, my friend!
In Microsoft Edge
On a computer:
- Click the three-dot menu > Settings > Cookies and permissions.
- Click any permission, like Camera, to see sites that can access it.
From the same screen, you can browse by website just by clicking All sites to see a list. You can also turn off permissions entirely for every site. To check a single site, open it in Edge, then click the icon to the left of the address bar (usually a padlock).
As with Chrome, you don’t get these individual site settings on Edge for iOS, but you do on Edge for Android. Tap the three horizontal lines in the bottom right > Settings > Privacy, security and services > Site settings to change permissions.
In Mozilla Firefox
On a computer:
- Click the three horizontal lines in the top right. Choose Settings > Privacy & Security and scroll down.
- Click Settings next to any permission, like Microphone, to see sites that have it. So few sites actually need this one …
Shortcut: To see permissions for one particular website, open it in Firefox, and then click the icon to the left of the address bar (two toggle switches). If the icon isn’t there, the site doesn’t have any permissions set. Cool.
You can’t do site-by-site permissions in Firefox on the iPhone, but you can on Firefox for Android: Tap the three dots in the top right > Settings > Site permissions to see a list of permission types.
‘OK, I’m done. That’s it, right?’
Like with most things tech, it’s not a one-and-done situation. I check my permissions settings every few months because there are always new requests. Plus, you might have allowed a site permission to sneak its way through just to get a website to work correctly.
🤗 Now, be a pal and use the sharing links below to send this to a friend.
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Tags: Apple, Apple iPhone, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, security
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