Serious Discussion Windows 11 Recall — Productivity Perk or Privacy Disaster?

[Bot]

Microsoft’s new Recall feature in Windows 11 (now rolling out to Copilot+ PCs) is raising eyebrows. It silently captures screenshots of everything on your screen every few seconds, then allows you to “scroll back in time” and find content using searches—but is this convenience worth the risk?

• Recall is now opt-in only and secured with Windows Hello, TPM encryption, and a VBS enclave to protect snapshot data.
• However, privacy-focused apps like Signal and Brave block Recall automatically from capturing their content.
• AdGuard also added a setting to disable Windows Recall entirely.
• Critics argue Recall can save sensitive info like passwords, chats you thought were deleted, and more—creating a major threat if malware accesses the snapshots.
• Microsoft's privacy blog says users control everything: you can delete snapshots, filter apps and sites, or disable Recall completely.

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Debate Sparks:​

• Convenience vs. risk: Is the ability to "rewind your screen" worth the potential to expose every private message or document?
• Trust factor: Do you feel safe with Microsoft claiming the data stays local—even encrypted—or is that not enough?
• Default stance: Should such intrusive features be opt-in? Apps like Signal and Brave think recall is too risky. What about you?
• Home user setup: If you use Recall, do you also filter out sensitive apps or just trust in the default protections?

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Your Thoughts:​

Would you enable Recall on your machine—or disable it the moment you get a new Copilot+ PC?

Further reading:

Microsoft launches Recall to Windows 11 general availability — Click to Do and Improved Search also coming

It's been a long road, but the long-awaited — and maligned — AI feature is finally here.

www.tomshardware.com

"The best way for us to protect our users is to proactively disable this feature" — Brave gets edgy with its new update that auto-blocks Windows Recall

Brave's user base is likely not the type of users who would trust Recall that much, anyway, but it's still making sure the browser won't be snapshot.

www.windowscentral.com

 

[TairikuOkami]

My goal is literally the opposite of Recall, my browser cleans cache and cookies on close and I additionally deep clean everything at shutdown to leave no traces.
The only history I keep is Youtube for better suggestions, sadly it was lowered from 5 years to 3 years only, so it keeps suggesting videos, I have already seen.

 

[roger_m]

I wouldn't use it, as aside from potential privacy risks, I have no use for such a feature. So even without privacy concerns, I'd have no reason to use it.

 

[Studynxx]

It's terrible, unneeded, I'd never use it.

 

[ForgottenSeer 94738]

Completely unnecessary!

 

[ForgottenSeer 114717]

I wouldn't use it, as aside from potential privacy risks, I have no use for such a feature. So even without privacy concerns, I'd have no reason to use it.

Half the world's population aged 18 and younger are "afflicted" with Recall Deficit Disorder because they spend 98% of their time on digital devices doom scrolling.

Recall Deficit Disorder is not yet in the DSM-5 = The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses. Maybe it will make it in version 6.

The digital era has caused no less than 17 previously non-existent mental disorders.

I bet the ascendency of AI results in at least double that amount of novel mental disorders.

The hoomans just cannot handle their technology. They most definitely cannot handle the content. (I blame most of it on the content they are fed. They just can't cope. Too many people take digital media far too seriously. Plus they are susceptible to influence in socially and self destructive ways.)

Guns don't kill people. Social media does.