Microsoft says it plans to let some Windows users test a controversial artificial intelligence (AI) feature soon after previously delaying its release owing to major privacy concerns.
In May, the tech giant announced a slew of new Windows 11 PCs under new Copilot+ branding. The firm showed off a new feature called Windows Recall that actively scans and screenshots everything that appears on your computer screen so that your PC can ‘recall’ anything when you ask the AI tool a question.
The idea is you can type natural language requests such as “find the slide from my presentation with the Q3 sales figures on it” or “where is the email where I talk to Luke about sprouts” and your PC will find it for you, across apps and services that you use.
But experts labelled Recall as a “disaster” for cybersecurity as it was found Microsoft was storing all the data collected on a database in plain text, which means if hackers gained access they could easily read everything including the personal identifying information of Windows users. Microsoft announced a delay to the headline feature on 13th June.
Now Microsoft has said it will release Recall in October to users on Windows Insider, a software testing program that gives volunteers early access to new Windows features. Recall will be exclusive to Copilot+ PCs such as the new Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 and Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge. Currently all Copilot+ machines have new processors made by Qualcomm.
“With a commitment to delivering a trustworthy and secure Recall (preview) experience on Copilot+ PCs for customers, we’re sharing an update that Recall will be available to Windows Insiders starting in October,” Microsoft said on its website.
“As previously shared on June 13, we have adjusted our release approach to leverage the valuable expertise of our Windows Insider community prior to making Recall available for all Copilot+ PCs. Security continues to be our top priority and when Recall is available for Windows Insiders in October we will publish a blog with more details.”
If Recall still works as advertised, it could be handy if you need to search for what you were doing at an earlier time. Microsoft showed how you could scrub back in time much like you might a YouTube video to find a specific thing you were doing on your computer.
Microsoft will make Recall an opt-in feature rather than on by default in case users are still worried about the security implications of having all their PC activity stored, even though all data is stored locally on your device. Microsoft is also assuring Windows users data is encrypted and will be locked behind biometric authentication so only you can access your Recall data.
Even though Recall will be available to some in October, it could be weeks or months before anyone not on the Windows Insider program and who owns a Copilot+ PC can use Recall. It’s quite the comedown from May when Recall was positioned as a flagship new AI tool from Microsoft.
