Microsoft announced today that it will begin rolling out its AI-driven Windows Recall feature to Windows Insiders with Copilot+ PCs starting in October.
Windows Recall is an AI feature that captures screenshots of active windows on your PC, analyzes them on-device using a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) and an AI model, and stores the information in an SQLite database. Users can later search for these screenshots using natural language queries to retrieve relevant data.
Despite its innovative approach, the feature has raised concerns among privacy advocates and cybersecurity experts, who warn that Windows Recall could become a privacy risk and a potential target for malicious actors seeking to steal user data.
In response to these concerns, Microsoft initially announced on June 7 that it would enhance the security of Recall by making it an opt-in feature and ensuring that the database remains encrypted until a user authenticates with Windows Hello when opening the app.
However, due to significant customer pushback and ongoing privacy and security concerns, Microsoft postponed the Recall launch for additional testing. The company stated that the feature would first be available for preview to Windows Insiders.
This week, Microsoft provided another update, announcing that Windows Insiders with Copilot+ PCs would be able to test the Recall feature starting in October. The company emphasized its commitment to delivering a secure and trustworthy Recall experience during this preview phase.
“As we continue to prioritize security, we’re excited to announce that Windows Recall (preview) will be available to Windows Insiders in October,” Microsoft said. “We value the expertise of our Windows Insider community and will leverage their feedback before making Recall widely available for all Copilot+ PCs.”
Microsoft also mentioned that additional details will be provided in a blog post when the feature is officially rolled out.
