Microsoft makes Recall an optional feature on Copilot+ PCs after it 'heard a clear signal' from the public

SoftwareOperating SystemsMicrosoft makes Recall an optional feature on Copilot+ PCs after it ‘heard a clear signal’ from the publicWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Microsoft)

A promotional image for Microsoft Recall, an AI search tool in Copilot+ AI PCs

It’s only been a little over a month sinceMicrosoft first announced a new featureforCopilot+ AI PCs, called Recall. The idea behind the AI tool was that it would make searching through your PC’s use history easier but the public felt otherwise, pointing out that it had serious privacy and security concerns. Microsoft has updated the system to address some of these issues, adding the most important one of all—the option to disable it entirely.

The updates to Recall are covered in aMicrosoft blog(viaArs Technica) and while the changes are only three in number, they’re pretty significant ones. The first, and most important one of all, is that Recall is now completely optional.

During the first run of your new Copilot+ AI PC, during the Windows setup procedure, you’ll be asked if you want Recall to be enabled. No prizes for guessing what most people will choose here.

Lastly, Microsoft is fully encrypting every snapshot of your PC that Recall takes, along with the search index database. These are all stored locally on your computer, rather than using a cloud service, but the main concern about Recall was that if anyone else logged into that same PC, the Recall data could potentially be accessed. With this update, snapshots will only be decrypted when unlocked via Windows Hello.

In the blog, Microsoft says that “even before making Recall available to customers, we have heard a clear signal that we can make it easier for people to choose to enable Recall on their Copilot+ PC and improve privacy and security safeguards.”

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Given that thepublic perception of AIisn’t exactly stellar at the moment, Microsoft should have foreseen the reaction to the announcement of Recall and gone overboard with the security measures. A little more work may have gone a great deal of good for the feature’s reputation.

We’ll see how well the updates are received when Recall is finally shipped to customers with Copilot+ AI PCs on June 18. However, the AI tool willonlybe on those computers, so if you’re using Windows 11 on an x86 desktop PC or laptop, Recall won’t be available and Microsoft hasn’t said anything about bringing the feature across to other platforms so far.

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