Security and privacy advocates are preparing for yet another challenging confrontation with Recall, the AI tool set to debut in Windows 11. This feature, which captures, indexes, and stores user activity every three seconds, has raised significant concerns among experts in the field.
When Recall was initially unveiled in May 2024, it faced immediate criticism from security practitioners who highlighted its potential to become a treasure trove for malicious insiders, cybercriminals, or even state-sponsored spies. The ability to gain administrative access to a Windows device could lead to severe breaches of privacy. Privacy advocates also expressed alarm over the tool’s implications in sensitive situations, such as intimate partner violence, and pointed out that Recall could inadvertently save sensitive content shared through privacy-focused messaging platforms like Signal.
Enshittification at a new scale
In response to the overwhelming backlash, Microsoft temporarily suspended Recall. However, on Thursday, the tech giant announced its plans to reintroduce the feature, currently available only to insiders using the Windows 11 Build 26100.3902 preview version. The company intends to gradually expand access to Recall in the coming months.
Microsoft officials have stated:
Recall (preview)* saves you time by offering an entirely new way to search for things you’ve seen or done on your PC securely. With the AI capabilities of Copilot+ PCs, it’s now possible to quickly find and get back to any app, website, image, or document just by describing its content. To use Recall, you will need to opt-in to saving snapshots, which are images of your activity, and enroll in Windows Hello to confirm your presence so only you can access your snapshots. You are always in control of what snapshots are saved and can pause saving snapshots at any time. As you use your Copilot+ PC throughout the day working on documents or presentations, taking video calls, and context switching across activities, Recall will take regular snapshots and help you find things faster and easier. When you need to find or get back to something you’ve done previously, open Recall and authenticate with Windows Hello. When you’ve found what you were looking for, you can reopen the application, website, or document, or use Click to Do to act on any image or text in the snapshot you found.
Microsoft hopes that the new opt-in requirement and the option to pause Recall will mitigate the backlash that erupted last year. However, skepticism remains regarding whether these measures will be sufficient to address the deep-rooted concerns surrounding user privacy and security.
