Have you ever thought, “I wish my computer took periodic screenshots of everything I do on my computer”? Well, Microsoft seems to think it’s exactly what people want, considering the rollout of its Recall feature this past May.
Available on Copilot+ PCs (PCs that have been specifically designed with a dedicated Neural Processing Unit [NPU] for AI tasks), Recall was created to help users find anything they’ve ever seen on their PC. It improves upon most computers’ search functions, letting you scroll through a timeline of your past activity, from app usage to website visits. Because it takes screenshots of everything you do, you’ll always be able to find what you need.
This feature is handy for those of us with terrible memories, but not everyone is happy with it. So far, it’s been blocked by Signal, the Brave browser, and AdGuard. In a blog post speaking about the decision to add a “Disable Windows Recall” feature, AdGuard said:
“At any given moment, the system could snap a screenshot of a private chat window, an online form where you’re entering your credit card, or simply something personal you didn’t want saved.”
Although Recal does have privacy features such as a filter for sensitive data like ID numbers, local, encrypted storage, and requires Windows Hello authentication and then a PIN on every login, the Ad Blocking company believes this isn’t enough.
A recent article from The Register testing the sensitive data filter suggests this may be true. This test found that although the filter worked reasonably well, it didn’t always pick up all information that might be considered sensitive and failed to filter it out. This was especially the case on certain shopping checkout pages. It also doesn’t consider the myriad ways someone might choose to store personal data. As a result, if cybercriminals managed to break into a system using Recall, they could be privy to a wealth of sensitive information.
Although you do have the option to blacklist certain sites and apps, that requires quite a bit of diligence and anticipation of any sensitive information that might end up being exposed. At this stage, many are questioning whether the benefits of the feature outweigh the risks.
Sean Wright, Director of Application Security at Featurespace, told The Register:
“I don’t dispute that Microsoft has the best intentions at heart, along with doing as much as they can to ensure the security of this feature. However, there are so many caveats, that I personally don’t see how one would be able to have all these areas covered from a privacy and security concern.”
Cora is a digital copywriter for SSLs.com. Having eight years of experience in online content creation, she is a versatile writer with an interest in a wide variety of topics, ranging from technology to marketing.