How to Configure Text and Image Generation Privacy Permissions in Windows 11

Accessing Privacy & Security Settings

The Privacy & security page is the main control area for what apps can do on your device. You can reach it from the Start menu or with a keyboard shortcut. The layout is the same on Home and Pro.

1. Open the Start menu⊞ and click Settings (the gear icon), or press the Win+I keyboard shortcut. The Settings⚙️ window opens.

2. Select Privacy & security from the left-hand navigation pane. The right side now lists your device security and permission categories.

3. Scroll down through the list to the app permissions area, where the app-specific capabilities and generative feature controls are. Each entry opens its own page when you click it.

That’s it. You are now on the Privacy & security page and can see the permission categories for your apps.

If you can’t find a generative feature entry, your build of Windows 11 may not have it yet, or it may be named slightly differently. Check your version first. Open Settings › System › About and look at the Version line under Windows specifications. Then run Windows Update and look again, because Microsoft adds and renames privacy pages between feature updates.

Configuring Application Permissions via the Settings App

The Settings app is the quickest way to stop programs from using text and image generation tools without your permission. A single switch turns the feature off for every app, and you can also set permissions app by app. Changes in Settings take effect straight away, and no restart is needed. (Registry changes below do need a restart.)

1. Open Settings and go to Privacy & security. The list of permission categories appears on the right.
2. Scroll to the app permissions section and look for the entry for text generation or image generation. Click it to open its page.

3. Set the master switch, Let apps generate text or Let apps generate images, to Off. This blocks all applications at once. The switch label should now read Off.
4. If you would rather leave the feature on for some programs, keep the master switch on. Then go through the list of installed software beneath it and turn individual applications off one by one. Each app’s switch shows Off once it is blocked.

That’s it. You should now have text or image generation blocked, either for every app at once or for the specific apps you chose.

The exact wording of these toggles can differ between Windows 11 builds. If a switch is greyed out, or a message says some settings are managed by your organization, a policy is controlling it. That is common on work PCs. Ask your administrator, or check the registry method below, which may be the source of the policy.

To undo any of this, return to the same page and turn the switch back On.

Managing Text and Image Generation Using Registry Editor

Registry Editor lets you change advanced system keys that control generative AI features across the computer. Use it if you want to lock these settings down or apply rules to more than one user account. Registry Editor is available on both Home and Pro editions, but policy keys may only be honored on supported editions. The keys also work only on builds that include these generative AI features (24H2/25H2 and later).

If you use Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, you have a managed alternative to editing the registry by hand. The Local Group Policy Editor, or MDM (mobile device management) policies from a tool such as Microsoft Intune, can apply the same kind of rule from one place. Which policies are listed depends on your build, so check that a matching one exists before you rely on it. Home edition does not include the Local Group Policy Editor, so the registry is the route there.

This method requires administrator privileges. Modifying the registry incorrectly can cause system instability, so follow these steps carefully.

Back up before you change anything. Do both of the following first, and do not skip either one.

• Create a System Restore point. Type Create a restore point in the Start menu search and open it. On the System Protection tab, click Create, give the point a name such as “Before AI privacy change”, and click Create again. If the Create button is greyed out, select your system drive, click Configure, and choose Turn on system protection first.
• Export the registry. In Registry Editor, click File, then Export, choose All as the export range, and save the file somewhere safe, such as a USB drive.

1. Press Win+R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type regedit and press Enter to open Registry Editor. When the User Account Control prompt appears, click Yes to allow the app to make changes to your device. Registry Editor opens with the key tree on the left.
3. Go to this registry key in the left sidebar: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
4. Right-click the Windows key, select New, and click Key. Name this new key WindowsAI. It appears under the Win.
5. Right-click the newly created AI key, select New, and click DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name this value LetAppsAccessSystemAIModels. The new value appears in the right pane.
6. Double-click LetAppsAccessSystemAIModels and change its value data from 0 to 1 to disable text generation, or leave it as 0 to keep it enabled. Click OK.
7. To manage image generation, right-click the AI key again, select New, and click DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name this value LetAppsAccessSystemAIModels.
8. Double-click LetAppsAccessSystemAIModels, set its value data to 1 to restrict image generation capabilities, and click OK.
9. Close Registry Editor and restart your🔄 computer to apply the changes.

That’s it. You should now have the generative AI policy values saved in the registry, and they take effect after the restart.

If a step fails with an access error, you are probably not signed in as an administrator. To undo the change, go back to the same key, set the value data back to its original number or delete the value, and restart. If you want to remove everything, delete the key you created in step 4. Or import the backup file you exported earlier. If something else breaks, use the restore point you created through System Restore.

Verifying Your Privacy Configurations

Verifying your configuration confirms that your new permission rules are working and that the generative features are really blocked. It only takes a few minutes.

1. Sign in again after the restart, open Settings, and go to Privacy & security. Check that the text and image generation switches are still set to Off, or that the apps you blocked are still blocked.
2. Open a creative app that normally offers prompt-based tools, such as a drawing or photo editing app. Check whether the prompt tools are hidden or show a message that they are blocked.
3. If you used the registry method, open Registry Editor again and go to the key from the registry steps. Confirm that the values are present and hold the data you set.

That’s it. You should now know whether your text and image generation rules are active on this PC.

If a feature still appears, restart once more and check that you did not misspell the key or value names. Also check whether another account on the PC has different settings, since per-user settings can differ. If the PC belongs to an organization, a Group Policy or MDM rule may be overriding your change.