Microsoft Recall Suffers Another Delay, the AI-Powered Feature to Be Tested Later This Year

Microsoft stated that the Recall feature will be available to Windows Insiders starting in October.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 22 August 2024 12:28 IST

Highlights

The Recall feature was earlier deferred to August
Microsoft faced criticism over the security risks of the Recall feature
The company announced several changes to the AI feature

Microsoft Recall Suffers Another Delay, the AI-Powered Feature to Be Tested Later This Year

Microsoft has not shared a release date for the Recall feature

Photo Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft announced yet another delay for its artificial intelligence (AI) feature Recall on Wednesday. Part of the company's Copilot+ PCs offering with its Windows operating system, the feature tracks and shows user's on-device history using automatically captured screenshots. The feature was first announced in May, however, due to public concerns over its privacy and safety, the tech giant rolled it back. It was then announced to be released to Windows Insiders in preview mode in August. However, now the company has announced another delay pushing it to October.

Microsoft's AI-Powered Recall Delayed Till October

The company added an update to its blog post about the feature and confirmed that Recall will be previewed in the Windows Insider Program (WIP) to users with Copilot+ PCs in October. Microsoft said that the delay was caused because it is trying to deliver a “trustworthy and secure” user experience. The tech giant will also publish a blog with more details once the feature has been rolled out to beta testers.

However, the company did not reveal any public release timelines. It only revealed that the company will incorporate the feedback from its Windows Insiders community before making the feature available to everyone.

When the feature was first rolled out, several users noted that the screenshots saved by the feature were stored unencrypted, and could be seen by anyone who had access to the device. Public concern resulted in Microsoft recalling the feature and stating that it would make it more secure.

Afterwards, the company published a blog post detailing the steps taken to improve the security of the feature. First, Recall was made entirely opt-in and the device asked for explicit consent before turning the feature on. It was also integrated with the Windows Hello security feature which uses biometric authentication or PIN code to let users access the device.

Additionally, a new “proof of presence” feature was also mentioned which would protect the user in case the device was remotely hacked into. A secondary encryption system was also built into the feature's search index database which would prohibit accessing the screenshots without going through the chatbot route. However, so far Recall has not been released in any capacity with these security measures.

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