Microsoft’s gradual retreat into the hedgerow over its controversial AI-powered “photographic memory” Recall feature has continued, with the company announcing it is pausing the consumer roll out for now.
The tool, which is designed to revamp the on-device search experience by consulting data from screenshots constantly being captured on your PC, has drawn the ire of privacy experts.
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Last week, Microsoft looked to shore-up the feature it announced at Build by revealing you could only access the screenshots by logging into to Windows 11 with biometrics. It also said it was making sure people had a clear choice to opt-in to the feature, which captures whatever is on your screen at the time the screenshot is taken and makes it searchable by recognising words, pictures and context.
Now the company says there are no immediate plans to roll Recall out as part of the Windows 11 experience for every day users with one of the new Copilot+ PCs.
It says it will be tested with Windows Insiders – the beta testing community – for more feedback and to establish how it is being used among that section of the user-base prior to letting it loose on the masses.
In an updated blog post the company says: “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. 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.”
Microsoft also points out it has added additional security measures like “just in time” decryption, which will only decrypt the screenshots when it’s the computer’s actual owner who is attempting to access them.
Would you be comfortable using Recall in Windows 11 if it meant you could find files easier on you PC, even when you don’t know the file name? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
