windows app download location Windows location service and privacy. In the meantime, check out what's available for on the Windows 10 tab. Some apps need to know when you’re in a specific location to work correctly. For instance, if you’ve asked an app to remind you to buy bread when you’re in the grocery store, the app will need to know when you’re in the store. To give you maps to get you where you’re going, or to show you lists of shops or restaurants near you, many apps and services request location information from your device. That’s what the Windows 10 location service does: tells your apps and services where you are or where you’ve been, so that you can get info more relevant to you. When we collect data, we want to make sure it’s the right choice for you. That’s why we provide info about the location service and described here. To learn more about location and your privacy, see the location sections of the Privacy Statement. How the location settings work. The device location setting enables certain Windows features such as auto-setting the time zone or Find my device to function properly. When the device location setting is enabled, the Microsoft location service will use a combination of global positioning service (GPS), nearby wireless access points, cell towers, and your IP address to determine your device’s location. Depending on the capabilities of your device, your device’s location can be determined with varying degrees of accuracy and may in some cases be determined precisely. If you have enabled the device location setting, your device sends de-identified location information (including wireless access point information, cellular tower information, and precise GPS location if available) to Microsoft after removing all personally identifiable information at the device. This de-identified copy of location information is used to improve Microsoft location services and, in some instances, shared with our location service provider partners, currently HERE, to improve the location services of the provider. Additionally, you can allow apps to use your device’s location and location history to deliver location-aware services as precisely as your device supports. If you grant a specific app access to your device’s location on the settings page, that app will have access to precise location information. Otherwise the location information provided to the app has lower accuracy. When your location is used by a location-aware app or or feature, your location information and recent location history are stored on your device. If you are signed in with your and location history has been enabled, your last known location information is also saved to the cloud, where it is available across your devices to other apps or services that use your Microsoft account. If you are signed in with your Microsoft account and your device cannot reliably determine your current location on its own (such as when you are in a building or basement), apps or services can use your last known location from your location history that is stored in the cloud if it is available. There are some exceptions to how your device’s location can be determined that are not directly managed by the location settings. Desktop apps are a specific type of app that won’t ask for separate permission to discover your device location information and won’t appear in the list that allows you to choose apps that can use your location. What are desktop apps? They’re usually downloaded from the internet or installed with some type of media (such as a CD, DVD, or USB storage device). They’re launched using an .EXE or .DLL file, and they typically run on your device, unlike web-based apps (which run in the cloud). Even when you’ve turned off the device location setting, some third-party apps and services could use other technologies (such as Bluetooth, Wi- Fi, cellular modem, etc.) to determine your device’s location with varying degrees of accuracy. Microsoft requires third-party software developers that develop apps for our or develop apps using Microsoft tools to respect the Windows location settings unless you’ve provided any legally required consent to have the third-party developer determine your location. However, to further reduce the risk that an app or service can determine your location when the Windows device location setting is off, you should only install apps and services from trusted sources. For more comprehensive protection of your location, you could consider disabling radio-based components of your device such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular modem, and GPS components, which might be used by an app to determine your precise location. However, doing so will also impair other experiences such as calling (including emergency calling), messaging, internet connectivity, and connecting to peripheral devices like your headphones. Please read the privacy policies of the apps and services you’ve installed to learn more about how they use your device’s location. To facilitate getting help in an emergency, whenever you make an emergency call, Windows will attempt to determine and share your precise location, regardless of your location settings. In addition, your mobile operator will have access to your device’s location if your device has a SIM card or is otherwise using a cellular service. Location history. Some Windows apps and services that use location info also use your location history. When the location setting is on, locations looked up by apps or services will be stored on the device for a limited time (24 hours in Windows 10), then deleted. Apps that have access to this info will be labeled Uses location history on the Location settings page. Default location. You can set a default location for your device that Windows, apps, and services can then use when a more exact location can’t be detected using GPS or other methods. Geofencing. Some apps use geofencing, which can turn on or off particular services or show you information that might be useful when you’re in an area defined (or “fenced”) by the app. An app can only use geofencing if location has been turned on for that app. If any of your Windows apps are using geofencing, you’ll see One or more of your apps are currently using geofencing on the Location settings page. . Cortana works best when she has access to your device location and location history, which she uses to help you—for example, by giving you traffic alerts before you need to leave or reminders based on location like “You’re near the grocery store, where you wanted to buy milk.” Cortana collects your location periodically even if you’re not interacting with her, like when you connect to Wi-Fi or disconnect from Bluetooth. When Cortana is turned on, the Search app also has access to your device location information and will automatically send it to Bing when Cortana suggests web search terms and results for Bing to use as described in the Privacy Statement. If you don’t want Cortana to have access to your device location, follow these steps: Go to Start > Settings > Cortana . Select Permissions or Permissions & History . Select Manage the information Cortana can access from this device. Turn the Location setting to Off . . When location is turned on for Microsoft Edge, you still have control over which websites can access your device location. Microsoft Edge will ask for your permission the first time you visit a website that requests your location information. You can turn off location permission for a website in Microsoft Edge settings. There are two versions of Microsoft Edge that can be installed on Windows 10. The new Microsoft Edge is downloadable and considered a desktop app. Follow these steps to turn on location for the new Microsoft Edge: Go to Start > Settings > Privacy > Location . Turn on Allow access to location on this device . Turn on Allow apps to access your location . Turn on Allow desktop apps to access your location if present. The legacy version of Microsoft Edge is the HTML-based browser that was released with Windows 10 in July 2015. Follow these steps to turn on location for the legacy version of Microsoft Edge: Go to Start > Settings > Privacy > Location . Turn on Allow access to location on this device . Turn on Allow apps to access your location . Under Choose which apps can access your precise location , switch the Microsoft Edge setting to On . How we build the location services database. To help us provide location services, Microsoft records the location of mobile cell towers and Wi-Fi access points. Our database might include the MAC addresses of your wireless router or other Wi-Fi network devices. We don’t associate MAC addresses with you personally or with the devices connected to your network. To prevent Microsoft from using the MAC addresses of your Wi-Fi access points in our location services database, go to Opt out of location services. How we help keep you informed: the location icon. When one or more apps are currently using your device location through the Windows location service, you’ll see the location icon in the notification area of your (on Windows 10 PCs) or in the status bar at the top of your screen (on devices). The icon won’t be shown for geofencing. To show or hide the location icon: On Windows 10 PCs: Go to Start > Settings > Personalization > Taskbar . Under Notification area , select Select which icons show on the taskbar . Turn the Location Notification setting On or Off . On Windows 10 Mobile: Go to Settings . Select Privacy > Location . Turn Show location icon on or off. If you’re using a device assigned to you by your workplace, or if you’re using a personal device at your workplace, you might not be able to change the location settings. If that’s the case, Some settings are managed by your organization will appear at the top of the Location settings page. How to control location settings. Windows location settings give you control over whether Windows features can access your device’s location and which Windows apps can use your device’s location and location history information. To check your location settings, go to Start > Settings > Privacy > Location . To clear location history, either restart your device, or go to Start > Settings > Privacy > Location , and under Location history , select Clear . Clearing the location history only clears the history on the device. Apps that accessed the history before it was cleared may have stored it elsewhere. Refer to your apps’ privacy policies for more info. To clear location history that’s been stored in the cloud and is associated with your Microsoft account, go to account.microsoft.com, and make sure you’re signed in to your account. Select Clear location activity , and then select Clear . To turn the Windows location settings on or off: Go to Start > Settings > Privacy > Location . Do one of the following: To control location for the whole device if you’re an administrator on the device, select Change , and then in the Location for this device message, switch the setting to On or Off . To control location for just your user account, switch the Allow apps to access your location setting to On or Off . If Location for this device is off appears on the settings page, you won’t be able to turn on the Allow apps to access your location setting for an individual user account. (Note that in previous versions of Windows, this setting was called Location service .) On Windows 10 PCs, you can add or remove the Location tile from the notification area at the far right of the taskbar. Here's how: Go to Start > Settings > System > Notifications & actions . Under Quick actions , select Edit your quick actions . Add, remove, or move the Location tile. On your mobile device: Go to Settings > Privacy > Location . Select Location to turn it on or off. To change whether an individual app can have access to your precise location: Go to Start > Settings > Privacy > Location . Turn each app on or off where it appears under Choose which apps can access your precise location . On a device, each person can do the same for their own accounts. If Allow apps to access your location is turned Off for your user account, the on/off switches can’t be turned on until Allow apps to access your location is turned On . To change the default location for your PC, which Windows, apps, and services can use when a more exact location can’t be detected: Go to Start > Settings > Privacy > Location . Under Default location , select Set default . The Windows Maps app will open. Follow the instructions to change your default location. How to Access the WindowsApps Folder in Windows 10. Many of us may not have heard of it, but Windows 10 has a hidden folder named ‘WindowsApps,” where all the latest apps, such as Microsoft Store apps, are sandboxed from everything else in the system. Its ownership is held by a built-in Microsoft user account called “TrustedInstaller,” which makes it technically difficult to access for security reasons. Why would you want to bypass this restriction? For one, there is a lot of reusable space inside the WindowsApps folder, and you should get rid of the unnecessary junk. Even if you don’t delete anything, you will find relevant information on apps like , Photos, and games installed through Game Pass for PC. If you’re the Administrator or system user of your computer, follow the methods below to access the WindowsApps folder. The Faster Method: Take Ownership Registry Hack. There are two distinct ways to reach the WindowsApps folder: either by using a simple registry hack or through a manual change of folder ownership. Both are equally safe, though the first one is slightly faster. To use the fast context-menu method, you can download this Take Ownership registry hack. To install it, just open the ZIP file and double-click “InstallTakeOwnership.reg.” You may also extract the folder first to open the file. There is another file, “RemoveTakeOwnership.reg,” which does the complete opposite by restoring ownership to TrustedInstaller. You will get a registry editor alert that “adding the information can unintentionally change or delete values and cause components to stop working correctly.” This is just a precautionary note that you can safely ignore in the case of this installer. Click “Yes” to proceed. You should notice an “Install TakeOwnership.reg have been successfully added to the registry” success message. Now go to your Windows “frequent folders” using the shortcut key Win + E . Go to “This PC” and open C drive where the Program Files will be available. Go down the Program Files path, and you will notice a hidden WindowsApps folder. If you haven’t previously enabled viewing hidden folders on your PC, go to the “View” tab and check the “hidden items” menu. Once the hidden WindowsApps folder is visible, right-click and select “Take ownership.” A command prompt window will open, which will confirm a transfer of WindowsApps folder ownership. Close the window. Now you will be able to access the WindowsApps folder easily. You can choose to delete unnecessary files from WindowsApps if you want. This will bring back a lot of reusable space on C drive. Second Method: Get Access to WindowsApps Folder in Windows 10 Manually. If you don’t want to have a “Take Ownership” command in your context menu for security or other reasons, you can access the WindowsApps folder manually as well. Go back to the Program Files in C drive and try to notice the hidden WindowsApps folder. The detailed steps to view the hidden folder have been covered in the previous section. Though you can see the folder, you cannot open the folder to see the files in it. If you try to open it, your access will be denied even if you are the administrator. To get access to the WindowsApps folder, right-click on the folder and then select the “Properties” option from the list of context menu options. The above action will open the Properties window. Navigate to the Security tab and click on the “Advanced” button appearing at the bottom of the window. Once the Advanced Security Settings window has been opened, click on the “Change” link appearing next to “TrustedInstaller,” which is a default setting. Under the “Select User or Group” window you will find the “Check Names” button. Your task is to enter any name which is registered with your PC. This action will automatically fill in the object name. If it’s your own PC, you’re the administrator, meaning you can simply type administrator and click “Check Names.” This is really the fastest approach to get the correct access. As shown here, the “Administrator” name is acceptable to the system and is automatically added. Just click “OK” to proceed. You may use other system user names as well. As long as a system user is authorized to view the hidden folders and apps, they can access the WindowsApps folder as the new owner. If the system user is unknown or you made a spelling error, you will notice a “cannot be found” error while trying to add the incorrect name. Now we come to the main step. Here in the main window you can see that the owner of the folder has been changed to your specified administrator account. Before applying the change, make sure that the “ Replace owner on sub containers and objects ” checkbox is selected, otherwise you won’t be able to interact with other files and folders inside the WindowsApps folder. After you’ve done everything, click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes. As soon as you click on the OK button, Windows will start to change the file and folder permissions. You will finally notice a success status message: “If you have just taken ownership of this object, you will need to close and reopen this object’s properties before you can view or change permissions.” Click OK to proceed. Now you should be able to access the WindowsApps folder without any problems, either in administrator mode or as an approved system user. Whichever method you use, you should now have access to the WindowsApps folder. You can also use the same method to take control of any folder on your hard drive. For further tips and hacks for Windows 10, read our guide on how to check CPU temperatures on your PC. And in a bit of a throwback guide, we’ve curated a list of great screensavers for Windows 10, too. Sayak Boral is a technology writer with over ten years of experience working in different industries including semiconductors, IoT, enterprise IT, telecommunications OSS/BSS, and network security. He has been writing for MakeTechEasier on a wide range of technical topics including Windows, Android, Internet, Hardware Guides, Browsers, Software Tools, and Product Reviews. 21 comments. doesn’t work, followed letter for letter, 12/1/2020. I have a SOLUTION for those still unable to gain ownership of the WindowsApps folder! Follow the second method above but do not click APPLY and OK just yet, you need to go to the auditing tab which is located under the checkbox “Replace owner on subcontainers and objects”. Here are the extra steps: STEP 7: In the “Auditing” tab: – choose ADD – choose PRINCIPAL – type in “Everyone” – click OK. STEP 8: – check the box “Full control” – check the box “Only apply these settings to objects and/or containers within this container.” – Click OK – if prompted click YES or OK Click APPLY and OK. Click OK again to close the window. STEP 9: REPEAT STEP 1 and 2 In the “Permissions” tab: – select the name you used to change ownership in step 5 and click REMOVE. – select Administrator and click REMOVE – select User and click REMOVE – click ADD – choose PRINCIPAL – type in the same name you used to change ownership – click OK REPEAT STEP 8 You can now ACCESS the WindowsApps folder. This also works if you choose “Administrator” as a principal and owner. This also works for any folder that may show corruption or is inaccessible. The REASON WHY: Changing ownership for the WindowsApps results for many users in an error that even Microsoft can’t figure out. This is because when changing ownership, the new owner already has permission settings, those settings need to be removed and re-added in the permissions list. But in order to do so the auditing settings of that folder needs full control. TLDR: For those who know what they’re doing. This is how you gain access to WindowsApps folder: Change ownership to admin. Add in auditing “Everyone” with full control. Apply and close all windows. Re-open properties>security>advanced and remove all users and administrators. Add admin with full control and apply. Good luck. update: the download DID however work. I’m in. I’ve been struggling with every solution as to why I got the error when trying to do updates through the Microsoft Store! I downloaded the registry hack and followed the rest of the instructions. It finally works. Thank you so much. I tried doing the manual ownership through other solutions but it never solved the issue. Maybe I wasn’t doing it right. Thanks again! This is a really bad idea. You will forever break the windows store and its functions. All UWP apps basically need that folder. If youre not using UWP apps or anything form the Windows store, I doesnt make any difference. Besides acessing the Windowsapps follder does not disable or delete it. nice,it works. thank you, Sir! :D. This doenst work. I have moved my WindowsApps to d:\WindowsApps – tried the manual way and the download. I do get ownership of parts of the folder, but not games folders for GamePass at least. Works just fine!! Hi, For my part it did not work with both ways of doing things, I am desperate! Best Regards. Thank you so much you saved my day… I tried the manual way and changed owner to administrator and it appeared to be changing, but then when I try to open the windowsapps folder again it still denies access just the same… Tried to run explorer in admin mode too, but still denied… Cheers. It was driving me insane not being able to get into the windowsapps folder to associate a file type .psd with pain.net. All sorted now. You can access individual folders inside WindowsApps without tampering with the permissions (I’d advise against it since I’ve messed up my Windows installation several times just by changing permissions to critical folders): 1. Open an app (e.g. WhatsApp). 2. Open and go to the app. 3. Expand its process tree, right-click a subitem and select “Open file location”. This command will open the Explorer inside the WindowsApps folder for that particular app (in this case, WhatsApp). Note that some apps need different tricks. For example, : 1. Open Groove Music. 2. Open Task Manager and go to the app. 3. Expand its process tree, right-click a subitem and select “Go to details”. This command will open the Details tab from Task Manager, with Music.UI.exe selected. 4. Right-click this item and select “Open file location”. This will lead you to this app’s folder inside WindowsApps. None of these processes resolved the problem for me. I am not sure why this was the case because I am not knowledgeable with systems. I do have a solid state drive. I am running Windows 10, version 2004, build 19041.804. worked for me! needed it for DPI scaling permissions for MSFS 2020! thanks. It worked for me, thanks! But, after mission completed, how to undo it again, i.e. hand back the ownership to the system? I’d like to do so to distress hackers entering that place. OMG, if you’ve never taken ownership using security tabs and get it right the first time, you’re amazing! Now do it nine more times. :) Use the context menu hack, it’s available from many different sources. Super simple. Another link: https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/take_full_ownership_of_files_folders_registry_hack.html. You won’t get anywhere with much of any OS change unless you’re an adminstrator first. In my case. I had no choice but to make the Owner Everyone. Administrator didn’t work. This does not work. The assigned owner/admin is me. But when I try to take ownership or delete, it will not let me… lovely. Thanks for this very easy to follow guide, I can access the Windows app hidden folder now :D. How to Change the Install Folder Location for Windows 10 Apps. By default, all apps – including traditional Win32 apps, as well as the ones you can get from the Store – will end up on your PC’s main hard drive. This is usually the “C:” drive. Changing the locations of these apps is easy and it can be very useful in some cases. The most typical reason to change the default install drive is that you are running out of storage space, which is especially common on laptops with SSD drives. Unusually demanding apps are best installed on SSD drives, so you may want to set the fastest drive as a default for apps. All of this is very easy to do on Windows 10. Windows Store Apps. Windows Store apps are built completely differently than Win32 apps. First of all, the way they’re installed and downloaded is more akin to using a smartphone store. Microsoft has come up with this in order to emphasize the responsive design of their tablets and mobile phones. Whether this was a smart move or not is debatable, but making sure that all Windows Store apps are installed in one place can help you make better use of your storage. Installing on a Separate Drive. If Windows 10 has made one thing easier, it’s tweaking its new features. Although they didn’t want to change too much about how the traditional programs and apps work, the new features that they introduced are much more straightforward to tweak. Changing the default install location of these apps is an excellent example. Click on the search bar and type in “Settings.” From the search results, select the Settings Select System from the menu. In the menu on the left, select Storage . Now, under More storage settings , click Change where new content is saved . Select your new default location. Every app you download from the Windows Store will now automatically install in your new default location. Keep in mind that you can also use this menu to change the location where other file types get saved, such as documents, music, photos and videos, films and TV programs, etc. Moving to Another Drive. Even though you’ve created your new default install location, the Windows apps that you’ve previously installed will still be located on your primary drive. You don’t have to uninstall them and install them again in order to move them to another drive. Instead, you can move the apps one by one, leaving some on the main drive if you want to. Open Settings . Select Apps . Find Apps & features . From the list of apps, select the one that you want to move to a new location. Click the app and select Move . Choose the drive you want the app to be moved to. Keep in mind that the Apps & features list displays both Windows Store and Win32 apps. You can only move the Windows Store apps this way. If you try to move a Win32 app, the Move button will be replaced by Modify . Win32 Apps. The more traditional apps, familiar to decade-long Windows users, can also be installed in a separate drive. In fact, when Windows runs a Win32 app, it prompts you to select the install folder. With Windows Store apps, you could only select the drive you want an app to be installed on, while the Win32 Install Wizard offers you to select the exact location of the file. This means that you can create a new folder for your new app and install it there. But unlike Windows Store apps, Win32 apps cannot be moved to another drive. The only way to do so is to uninstall and then select a different destination folder when reinstalling. This is mostly because the way these apps are installed is completely different. Changing the Default Location. Instead of changing the drive and location every time you try to install a Win32 app, you can change the default location. Although this allows you to also select the exact default install folder, unlike the case was with Windows Store apps, this process is a bit less user-friendly. Here is what you need to do: Press Win + R to bring up the Run Open Regedit by typing the word in the Open: Navigate to the following in the list to the left: “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion” In the right pane, open the value ProgramFilesDir / ProgramFilesDir (x86) , depending on whether your Windows is 32-bit or 64-bit. Once you double-click it, the value will open an edit box. Under Value data: type in your new desired default location. Should You Install Your Apps on a Separate Drive? As you may know, tech-savvy Windows users tend to recommend that you add at least one drive on your PC. This is useful for two main reasons: more storage and backup possibilities. That is to say, by adding a drive, you’re automatically increasing the space on your PC and making sure that there is a hard disk to back things up on. That being said, you should always keep in mind that installing apps on different drives will just add up to the number of failure points on your computer. The more different variables there are on a PC, the better the chances are of a complication or an error occurring. It is suggested that you use one of your drives for apps (Windows Store and Win32) while using the other for storing things such as movies, music, documents, files – essentially, use your second drive for everything that doesn’t require an install. Managing Your Storage. It is very important that you learn how to manage your storage properly, especially if you don’t have a lot of it to go about. Make a plan before deciding where you want your apps installed, and make sure you know where everything is in case you ever need to start using external storage. Do you prefer using Windows Store or Win32 apps? How do you manage your storage? Do you use an external hard drive for backup? Let us know in the comments. How to Change the Default Install Location for Store Apps in Windows 10. Windows 10 Store apps have a default install location, which might not be so convenient for some users. Fortunately though, this default install location can be changed to another partition or drive in your computer, including SD cards, USB flash disks and external hard drives- then you can get rid of apps that exist in your SSD drive along with Windows 10. Notes: 1. You can only pick partitions for installing your apps; you cannot choose subdirectories in them. 2. Apps which are already installed in the system will not be moved to the new install location- only new apps will be installed there. If you really want old apps in the new location, you’ll have to uninstall them first, and then reinstall them (after you have changed the install location of course). By doing this however, you can lose the app's data. 3. You cannot set the install location to be a mapped network drive. 4. There is no need to format a drive in order to use it for installing Store apps. 5. Disconnecting the drive you selected for installing apps will make the ones that have already been installed there to stop working, until you reconnect the drive again. 6. If you try to install a new app while the selected drive is disconnected, then the app will be installed to the default install directory, which is This PC in your C drive ( %LocalAppData%\Packages , or C:\Users\ USERNAME \AppData\Local\Packages , where USERNAME is the name of your account). As you can guess, they will not be moved to the other directory when it is available again- they will stay where they were installed. 7. New Store apps will be installed inside a new folder in the drive you selected, named WindowsApps . This folder will be encrypted with Encrypting ( EFS ), so that only your account will be able to access it. Changing the Default Install Location for Store Apps in Windows 10. In order to select another location for installing new apps, all you have to do is navigate to the corresponding setting in Windows 10- no need to mess with the registry or policies. Step 1: Go to Settings. Open the and select Settings . Step 2: Select the “System” Option. In the Settings window, click on the System option. Step 3: Highlight the “Storage” Item. From the System settings window, click on the Storage item from the sidebar. Step 4: Change Apps Install Location. Now, in the Storage configurations screen and under the Save locations heading, you can see an option that reads “ New apps will save to: ”, along with a dropdown box. All you need to do is click on that dropdown box and select the desired install location from the list of drives that appear. That’s all, now close the window and try installing a new app to verify that it goes inside the WindowsApps folder inside the selected drive. If you have a suggestion or problem, don't hesitate to let us know in the comments section below!