Microsoft makes Recall feature opt-in after criticism from privacy experts

Microsoft will make the Recall feature in Windows 11 opt-in after criticism from users and privacy experts. It can only be enabled if the user actually chooses it. Windows Hello authentication is also required to view the screenshots.

In a blog post Microsoft out what changes have been made to Recall, which is currently only available on Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs with the latest Snapdragon chipset. Users will now see a screen where they can choose to activate Recall or leave it disabled. In addition, Windows Hello is required to use the function and Microsoft has added 'extra protection'. The screenshots can only be viewed if the user's identity can be verified by Hello.

Recall was announced at the end of May. It is described by Microsoft as a 'photographic memory for Windows'. The feature takes screenshots several times per minute. These screenshots are placed in a timeline by AI, which allows the user to track their activities. However, Recall may take screenshots of sensitive information, such as passwords, and not scrub that information from the images. So the user has to manually exclude apps in the settings of the feature.

Microsoft claims that the data is kept locally and only the user has access to the screenshots. Security researcher Kevin Beaumont However, in early June it showed that it is possible to access Recall on a device that does not officially support the feature. He managed to view the screenshots via local access to the PC with a different account. That account did not have administrator rights. Previously, Microsoft leaker Albacore had also managed to get Recall running on a low-end PC with a Snapdragon 7cx+ Gen3.