Microsoft’s Controversial Recall AI Feature Coming to Windows Insiders in October

Microsoft is set to roll out its controversial Recall AI feature to Windows Insiders in October. This feature, which was originally scheduled for release with the first wave of Copilot+ PCs in June, was postponed indefinitely due to security and privacy concerns.

What is Windows Recall and how does it work?

The AI-powered Recall feature in Windows 11 periodically captures screenshots of everything users do on their Copilot+ PCs. These screenshots are processed with optical character recognition (OCR) and saved, along with the text, in a searchable database on the computer. Recall is designed to help users quickly locate documents, images, websites, emails, and more.

In June, security researchers discovered that Recall data was stored in plain text within the OCR database. This meant that hackers, whether with physical or remote access to the PC, could potentially view and export the unencrypted snapshots and database.

What are the security concerns about Recall?

To address privacy concerns, Microsoft announced significant changes to Windows Recall in an upcoming update. The AI-powered feature will be disabled by default when it launches on Copilot+ PCs. Additionally, the database will be encrypted at rest and require Windows Hello authentication each time users access it.

Now, Microsoft announced that Windows Insiders will be able to access a preview of Recall sometime in October. However, the company did not provide additional details on the changes beyond what was previously shared in June.

“As previously shared on June 13, we have adjusted our release approach to leverage the valuable expertise of our Windows Insider community prior to making Recall available for all Copilot+ PCs. Security continues to be our top priority and when Recall is available for Windows Insiders in October we will publish a blog with more details,” said Pavan Davuluri – CVP for Windows + Devices.

The revamped Recall feature will be available in preview for Windows Insiders with a Copilot+ PC. Users will be able to test it on PCs that meet the minimum system requirements, including 16 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage, and a specialized neural processing unit (NPU) with at least 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS).

Microsoft emphasized that it has been addressing security and privacy concerns with Windows Recall based on user feedback. However, it remains to be seen if the upcoming changes will be enough to regain users’ trust. This feature will need thorough testing by security experts before it is considered safe for public use.