App access to the Documents folder

Settings›Privacy›App permissions›App access to the Documents folder

Recommendation

Depends

Blocking is appropriate if you do not open or save documents in Microsoft Store apps.

It breaks “Save as…”, autosave and export to “Documents” in Store apps; Win32 programs and browsers are unaffected.

Main effect

Blocking access to “Documents”

FPS and memory

See the study

What changes

BoosterX enables a general block for Store/UWP apps — the same global switch as on the Windows page “Settings” → “Privacy” → “App permissions” → “Documents”. After the block, such apps can no longer automatically read and write files in the “Documents” library. “Save as…”, autosave and export break in Store apps that write to the folder directly, for example in a PDF editor or a notes app. A file selected manually in the system open dialog remains accessible to the app.

Exceptions and differences

The block applies only to Microsoft Store apps. Regular Win32 programs and browsers access “Documents” directly and do not lose access. A targeted block for a single app remains on the same system page: you can close access for a specific app without disabling it for all. BoosterX supports this setting on Windows 10 and Windows 11; the name of the “Settings” section and the set of permission pages depend on the version, check them on your system.

How to verify the result

Launch a Store app that saves documents and try to export or save a file to “Documents”. After the change, restart the app: Windows applies the new permission on the next launch. With the block enabled, saving should fail with an access error.

How to change and revert

Open “Optimization” → “Privacy” → “App permissions” → “App access to the Documents folder”, move the switch to the “Enabled” position: BoosterX will apply the block on access to the “Documents” library. Click “Apply”. If “Instant apply” is enabled, a separate button is not required. To revert, move the switch to the “Disabled” position and apply the change again: BoosterX will return Windows to its default state with access to the “Documents” library allowed.

Confirmation

• Study of privacy policies.
• Related permissions: “Pictures”, “Videos” and broad file system access.
• Microsoft: File access permissions, checked 2026-09-19.

Last check: 2026-09-20.