Microsoft Copilot's recall feature: Difference between revisions

Recall is a feature of [[Windows 11]] that records the user's activity using snapshots and allows users to retrace their previous activity., using [[Microsoft copilot|Copilot]], [[Microsoft]]'s [[Artificial intelligence]](AI) assistant. It takes screenshots of the user's desktop every few seconds to be used by Copilot. It was initially impossible to remove from your computer and its screenshots were unencrypted.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=2024-09-27 |title=Microsoft’s more secure Windows Recall feature can also be uninstalled by users |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/27/24255721/microsoft-windows-recall-ai-security-improvements-overhaul-uninstall |url-status=live |website=The Verge}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Retrace your steps with Recall - Microsoft Support |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/retrace-your-steps-with-recall-aa03f8a0-a78b-4b3e-b0a1-2eb8ac48701c |access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref>

In 2024, Microsoft unveiled Recall for Copilot+ PCs,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-01-25 |title=Competitive Processes, Anticompetitive Practices And Consumer Harm In The Software Industry: An Analysis Of The Inadequacies Of The Microsoft-Department Of Justice Proposed Final Judgment |url=https://www.justice.gov/atr/competitive-processes-anticompetitive-practices-and-consumer-harm-software-industry-analysis |url-status=live |website=DOJ}}</ref> marketed as a way for users to search through what they have done on their computer by recording their screen. This sparked controversy,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Allan |first=Darren |date=2024-05-23 |title=Microsoft’s controversial Recall feature for Windows 11 could already be in legal hot water |url=https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsofts-controversial-recall-feature-for-windows-11-could-already-be-in-legal-hot-water |url-status=live |website=Techradar}}</ref> especially among security experts<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hassan |first=Nilhad |title=Privacy and security risks surrounding Microsoft Recall |url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/Privacy-and-security-risks-surrounding-Microsoft-Recall |url-status=live}}</ref> who worried about the security of screenshots, since it could easily document private information like social-security numbers, bank-account information, and passwords, as well as user browsing behavior. A massive security oversight was the '''initial''' version of Microsoft Recall gathering information into a '''plain text database'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beaumont |first=Kevin |date=2024 |title=Stealing everything you’ve ever typed or viewed on your own Windows PC is now possible with two lines of code — inside the Copilot+ Recall disaster |url=https://doublepulsar.com/recall-stealing-everything-youve-ever-typed-or-viewed-on-your-own-windows-pc-is-now-possible-da3e12e9465e |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250128195155/https://doublepulsar.com/recall-stealing-everything-youve-ever-typed-or-viewed-on-your-own-windows-pc-is-now-possible-da3e12e9465e?gi=e57abd81f3e3 |archive-date=2025-01-28 |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=Medium}}</ref>. Later versions of Recall subsequently encrypt the database.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=2024-09-28 |title=Microsoft’s more secure Windows Recall feature can also be uninstalled by users |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/27/24255721/microsoft-windows-recall-ai-security-improvements-overhaul-uninstall |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927170451/https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/27/24255721/microsoft-windows-recall-ai-security-improvements-overhaul-uninstall |archive-date=2024-09-27 |access-date=2025-10-18 |work=[[The Verge]]}}</ref>