Controversial 'Recall' feature back into Windows

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Microsoft’s Recall feature is still threat to privacy despite recent tweaks

In May 2024, Microsoft suffered what’s been described as “one of its worst PR disasters to date” when it rolled out the AI-powered Recall feature in the Windows 11 preview. Microsoft compared the feature, which took snapshots of a user’s screen at regular intervals to a kind of ‘photographic memory.’ That memory would last for about three months, as Microsoft said Recall would use around 25GB of storage to save approximately three months' worth of snapshots, since all processing and storage happens locally on the device. Users and experts alike were not impressed, however, immediately sounding the alarm bells and dubbing the feature a “privacy nightmare”.

What AdGuard is doing about Recall’s privacy risks

First off, Recall is only available on next-generation Microsoft Copilot+ PCs. So if your device came out before mid-2024, you're not getting it. You can check out the full list of compatible PCs here.

That said, while not many users qualify for Recall right now, that’s going to change: newer, more advanced PCs will eventually become the norm. That’s why we at AdGuard decided to take action and introduce a setting in our Windows desktop app that would block Recall. You can follow our work on this feature on GitHub. You might see this new setting included as early as the next AdGuard for Windows release.

Microsoft’s Recall feature is still threat to privacy despite recent tweaks

Microsoft’s Recall feature uses AI to capture and store user data. While it can be useful, it also poses a significant privacy risk. Here's what AdGuard is doing about it.

adguard.com

Interesting links from this article:

In depth with Windows 11 Recall—and what Microsoft has (and hasn’t) fixed

Original botched launch still haunts new version of data-scraping AI feature.

arstechnica.com

Microsoft Recall on Copilot+ PC: testing the security and privacy implications

A look at the risks and tradeoffs with Microsoft Recall.

doublepulsar.com

 

[Sorrento]

I disabled it a while ago in Policy Editor, whatever MS in their infinite wisdom decide do I'm sure there will always be a way, there has been with everything else?