It’s possible to make phone calls through Windows 10 through a linked phone and use of the relevant app. You can also configure which apps are allowed to make phone calls through the Settings app. This guide will cover how to block or allow an app to make phone calls from Windows 10.
You can get to the Phone calls privacy page in the Settings app by pressing the Windows key, typing “Phone calls” and hitting enter. There are three settings that configure app permissions to make phone calls.
Tip: These settings only affect Windows Store apps. Desktop applications installed from the internet cannot be managed in this way.
The topmost setting configures if any accounts on the device are allowed to make phone calls. If this setting is disabled, no accounts can choose to enable phone calls without an administrator changing that setting first. If this setting is enabled, user accounts may enable the feature if they wish. This setting applies to all accounts on the device and requires administrative permissions to change.
The second setting configures if the current user account allows apps to make phone calls. This setting only affects the current user account and doesn’t require administrative privileges to change.
Tip: If your user account is configured to allow apps to make phone calls, then the People and Messaging apps are both granted permissions. You can’t disable permissions for these apps without disabling phone permissions account-wide – they are necessary for the app to function.
The bottom settings on the page allow you to grant apps permission to make calls on an app-by-app basis. This allows you to block one app from being able to make phone calls while allowing another to do so.
Tip: All three settings must be set to “On” for an app to have permissions to access your text messages.
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