Microsoft has performed a u-turn over its controversial Recall feature for Copilot+ Windows 11 PCs announced last month.
The Recall feature, which is designed to revamp on-device search using AI rather than traditional file names, takes regular screenshots of what’s on your display and makes that information searchable thanks to what Microsoft calls a “photographic memory”.
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In theory, it means you should be able to quickly access files you might spend ages looking for, but in practice it has alarmed privacy advocates and security experts.
And for obvious reasons too. After all, those screenshots will capture personal information, your bank details, most private photos and whatever else happens that usually stays between you and your computer.
Responding to the feedback from worried observers, Microsoft has reversed course from its initial plan to turn Recall on by default. It’ll now be off, unless you turn it on manually.
“First, we are updating the set-up experience of Copilot+ PCs to give people a clearer choice to opt-in to saving snapshots using Recall. If you don’t proactively choose to turn it on, it will be off by default,” Microsoft says in a blog post.
Microsoft is also placing the Recall data safely behind your biometrics, rather than a password or pin. It says you’ll need Windows Hello enabled to authenticate it’s actually you using the feature.
Finally, Microsoft says it is boosting the security of the feature, adding: “We are adding additional layers of data protection including “just in time” decryption protected by Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS) so Recall snapshots will only be decrypted and accessible when the user authenticates. In addition, we encrypted the search index database.”
Recall is set to roll out to users with compatible PCs later this month. Will you be using it? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
