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Microsoft’s controversial Windows Recall feature is coming back in October

If you thought that Microsoft was done with Recall after its catastrophic reveal as the main feature of Copilot+ PCs, you are mistaken.

Microsoft wants to bring it back this October 2024. Good news is that the company plans to introduce it in test builds of the Windows 11 operating system in October. In other words: do not expect the feature to hit stable Windows 11 PCs before 2025 at the earliest.

A quick recap of events

Microsoft announced Windows Recall in May 2024 originally. The feature was initially enabled by default on compatible systems to capture a screenshot every few seconds. It would then use AI to analyze the screenshots and give users the option to interact with that content.

You could ask the AI about previous activities on the PC and it would look through the screenshots to find it.

While that may have sounded great on paper and on work-related PCs, users and experts alike expressed concern. Users expressed fears that malware could steal Recall data to know exactly what they did in the past couple of months.

While Recall was designed to block taking screenshots of certain activities, these were fairly limited. The feature could, in its initial form, take screenshots of passwords, if you used the option to show them, credit card numbers, and other personal information. It would also know about your browsing habits, which shows you would watch, and anything else that you would do while using the PC.

Others did not trust Microsoft to keep the data secure. We suggested to make Recall opt-in, instead of opt-out, to make sure that users knew what they were getting into when enabling it.

Microsoft pulled the Recall feature shortly after its announcement and published information about its future in June.  There, Microsoft said that it would make Recall opt-in by default. It also wanted to improve security by enrolling in Windows Hello and other features.

Furthermore, it pledged to give Insiders the ability to test Recall before launch. This was neglected previously.

Microsoft plans

The update to June's blog post puts a timestamp on the return of Recall. October 2024 will see its integration in Windows 11 Insider builds. The feature will only be available on Insider builds that meet the Copilot+ PCs requirements. Microsoft reiterates that security will be its top priority.

Google launched a similar feature recently for its Pixel 9 devices. Called Pixel Screenshots, it is also an AI feature that is analyzing screenshots so that users may recall information found in those screenshots at any time.

Unlike Recall, which at this time is still taking screenshots automatically when enabled, Pixel Screenshots works with manual screenshots.

Microsoft plans to provide additional information in October when the new Recall launches in test builds of the Windows 11 operating system.

What is your take on Recall? Do you think that Microsoft is making the right decision to cling to it and launch it in the future?

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