Remove Desktop Apps Microphone Access History on Windows 11

In Windows 11, the Settings app keeps a record of desktop applications that have accessed your microphone. This list is found under: Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone. While this list helps users monitor which apps have used the microphone, there is no built-in way to remove individual desktop apps from the list. The only available option is to toggle off the setting Let desktop apps access your microphone, which disables or enables microphone access for all listed apps but does not clear the list of these apps.

Although this list is not doing anything harmful, yet some privacy conscious users may feel at unease because anyone using their computer can see which desktop apps such as Audacity have been using for microphone access.

Fortunately, you can manually remove this list by deleting a specific registry key that stores this information. Here are two methods to do so:

Method 1: Using Registry Editor (Regedit)

1. Open Registry Editor.
Press Win + R, type regedit, and hit Enter. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click Yes.

2. Navigate to the Registry Key.
In Registry Editor, go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CapabilityAccessManager\ConsentStore\microphone\NonPackaged

3. Delete the “NonPackaged” Key.
Right-click on the NonPackaged folder. Select Delete and confirm the action.

4. Restart Your PC.
Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer to apply the changes.

The list of previously accessed apps should now be cleared.

Method 2: Using PowerShell

For a quicker method, you can use PowerShell to remove the registry key.

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator
Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin).
Click Yes if prompted by UAC.

2. Run the Following Command
Copy and paste this command into the PowerShell window and press Enter:

Remove-Item -Path “HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CapabilityAccessManager\ConsentStore\microphone\NonPackaged” -Recurse -Force

3. Restart Your PC
After executing the command, restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Conclusion

Removing the NonPackaged registry key will clear the list of desktop apps that previously accessed your microphone. However, new apps that use the microphone will be added back to the list over time.

Be careful when modifying the registry – accidental changes can cause system issues. Always back up your registry before making changes. If you are unsure about editing the registry manually, using PowerShell provides a safer and more direct method. This method only removes the history of apps that accessed the microphone; it does not prevent apps from accessing it in the future.