New keys in a fail-closed policy file fail open on old readers

A local policy file that fails closed when it is invalid can still fail open when a new restriction key is added under the same schema version. Older installed readers ignore the unknown key and keep collecting exactly what the user asked to exclude. When a privacy restriction is added this way, either apply it together with a reader upgrade (for example, as an installer flag) or make the standalone command that edits the file detect outdated installed readers and warn that the restriction is not yet in force. Bumping the schema version does make old readers fail closed, but it halts all collection and can break other tools that share the file. Weigh that trade-off explicitly.

Applies when: extending an owner-local opt-out or exclusion file that several installed runtime versions read. Keywords: policy file schema version backward compatibility opt-out exclusion fail open old runtime privacy