Microsoft’s Controversial Windows Recall Feature Is Coming Back in October

If you thought Microsoft was done with Recall after its disastrous unveiling as the main feature of Copilot+ PCs, you’d be wrong.

Microsoft He wants The feature is scheduled to return in October 2024. The good news is that the company plans to introduce it in beta builds of Windows 11 in October. In other words: Don’t expect the feature to hit stable Windows 11 PCs until 2025 at the earliest.

Quick summary of events

Microsoft announced the Windows Recall feature in May 2024. The feature was initially enabled by default on compatible systems to take a screenshot every few seconds. It then uses artificial intelligence to analyze the screenshots and give users the option to interact with that content.

You can ask the AI about past activities on your computer and it will search through screenshots to find them.

While this may sound great on paper and on work-related PCs, users and experts alike have expressed concerns. Users have expressed concerns that the malware could steal Recall data to see exactly what they’ve been doing over the past two months.

While Recall was designed to prevent screenshots of certain activities, these were fairly limited. In its initial form, the feature could capture screenshots of passwords, if you used the option to show them, credit card numbers, and other personal information. It would also learn about your browsing habits, which shows what programs you watch, and anything else you might do while using your computer.

Others did not trust Microsoft’s ability to secure data. We suggested making the recovery option optional, rather than an opt-out option, to ensure that users knew what they were getting into when they enabled it.

Microsoft pulled the Recall feature shortly after announcing it and released information about its future in June. Microsoft said it would make Recall optional by default. It also wanted to improve security with Windows Hello enrollment and other features.

Furthermore, the company has pledged to give users the ability to test Recall before launch. This feature has previously been neglected.

Microsoft plans

The June blog update puts a timeline for the return of Recall. October 2024 will see it integrated into Windows 11 Insider builds. The feature will only be available on Insider builds that meet the Copilot+ PC requirements. Microsoft says security will be a top priority.

Google recently rolled out a similar feature for the Pixel 9. It’s called pixel screenshotsIt is also an AI feature that analyzes screenshots so that users can recall the information in those screenshots at any time.

Unlike Recall, which at this time still takes screenshots automatically when enabled, Pixel Screenshots works with manual screenshots.

Microsoft plans to provide additional information in October when the new Recall feature launches in test builds of Windows 11.

What do you think of Recall? Do you think Microsoft made the right decision to stick with it and release it in the future?

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