After a rough launch in May, Microsoft went back to the drawing board with the maligned Windows Recall feature, announcing the feature was delayed indefinitely. But now it sounds like Recall's recall is coming to an end.
Specifically, the AI-powered feature appears to be slowly getting ready for a return. In an announcement on the Windows blog, Microsoft announced that Windows Insiders — basically, beta testers for the company — will get access to a preview of Recall this October.
The last update to the blog came in the same month when Microsoft recalled the AI feature. At the time, they announced it would come to Windows Insiders "in the coming weeks." Microsoft further added in a blog post that the company wanted to "ensure the experience meets our high standards for quality and security."
Almost immediately, Recall saw several security safeguards added that were surprisingly missing. These included:
- Making Recall opt-in instead of being on by default
- Making Windows Hello enrollment mandatory for it, so you need to be in front of your PC to access the timeline
- Encrypting the database of screenshots taken and adding enhanced sign-in security so that Recall screenshots will only be accessible when a user authenticates
What is Recall and what's next?
If you put Recall out of mind once Microsoft disappeared the feature, Windows Recall takes snapshots of everything you do on your Copilot + PC. It was initially described as a "photographic memory" for your computer activity. Essentially, it will let you revisit and search through emails, documents, and chats to find information.
It sounds like a neat feature but as soon as it was announced security researchers were immediately warning that the feature was easily exploitable and a potential security "disaster". Security expert Kevin Beaumont found that Recall didn't hide sensitive information like passwords.
From our understanding, the issue is that Microsoft bafflingly left Recall data unencrypted. We can only speculate, but the rush to shove AI into everything this year has left companies pushing underbaked features and ideas through product pipelines without much in the way of guardrails.
Basically, it was an open door if you ever accidentally installed malware or got hacked via other means.
Similar to Google's AI Overviews controversy, Microsoft and Google got caught trying to shove their mitts into the AI cookie jar. While both companies have pulled back these specific AI tools, they're still forging ahead with AI. And as you can see neither tool has gone away completely. But hopefully, some time back in the labs is creating better, more functional, and most importantly, safer tools.
Outside of this week's announcement, Microsoft said a blog with details on how to access the revamped Recall preview will come in October. It will most likely require a Copilot + PC, which began releasing in June.
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