(Credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft's Recall AI feature won't be fully released just yet. Instead, Microsoft is delaying its launch and offering Recall to its Windows Insider Program, the company shared in a blog post Thursday. Recall no longer has an official release date, and Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs will ship without the feature when they launch June 18.
"We are adjusting the release model for Recall to leverage the expertise of the Windows Insider community to ensure the experience meets our high standards for quality and security," Microsoft said in its post. "This decision is rooted in our commitment to providing a trusted, secure and robust experience for all customers and to seek additional feedback prior to making the feature available to all Copilot+ PC users."
Recall, which will only be compatible with Copilot+ PCs when it eventually launches, takes screenshots of user activity in the background while you're using the computer. Recall's AI can later analyze those screenshots and pull up past moments when you conduct a text-based search. Recall is designed to pull up any moment in the computer's past, not just a specific photo or video. This means multi-window desktop configurations can be recovered and reloaded with just a keyword search.
But security experts have sounded the alarm on Recall's safety, arguing that malware could target Recall to steal sensitive user data like banking information. UK regulators are investigating the feature over potential security and privacy concerns. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has referred to Recall as a "Black Mirror episode" (though he's never reluctant to take shots at OpenAI and Microsoft). For some, the convenience of an AI with "photographic memory" may not be worth the risk.
That prompted Microsoft to announce last week that Recall would be opt-in. In its Thursday post, Microsoft emphasized that Recall will use "just in time" decryption and require Windows Hello to sign in on PCs. Recall users will also be able to filter out software or websites they don't want recorded, delete past screenshots, or fully disable the feature at any time.
"The fact that Recall could be accessed without admin rights was scary, potentially exposing user information," Jim Alkove, a former Microsoft employee of 16 years who worked as an executive on its security and technical strategy, said in a statement to PCMag.
"While these changes are a move in the right direction, more work is justified to protect this sensitive information," Alkove said on Microsoft's decision to make the feature opt-in.
Former Microsoft employees have also raised concerns about the tech giant's security practices more broadly. This week, ex-Microsoft employee Andrew Harris told ProPublica that he urged Microsoft to fix a major security bug for years that eventually enabled the 2020 SolarWinds cyberattack.