Microsoft’s Controversial Recall AI Feature Is Here to Stay: Off-Button Glitch ‘Incorrectly Listed’
Microsoft said its controversial Recall feature was “trustworthy and secure" Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- Microsoft confirmed that its recent Windows update, which showed Recall could be uninstalled, was a bug.
- Security experts have universally panned the AI search feature.
- Microsoft is releasing Recall to Windows users for testing in October.
- Microsoft continues to bet big on AI.
On September 1, Microsoft confirmed that the latest update to Windows 11, which showed that its controversial Recall feature could be uninstalled, was a bug and will be retracted in an upcoming update.
As Deskmodder reported last week, the latest Windows 11 update, 24H2, allows users to delete Recall from the Windows Feature section.
Off-Button Glitch “Incorrectly Listed”
In a comment to The Verge , Windows senior product manager Brandon LeBlanc said: “We are aware of an issue where Recall is incorrectly listed as an option under the ‘Turn Windows features on or off’ dialog in Control Panel.
“This will be fixed in an upcoming update,” LeBlanc added.
Microsoft has not confirmed or denied if users will be able to uninstall the feature in the future.
However, Microsoft will likely need to provide an uninstall button in EU versions of Windows 11 to comply with the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act.
What Happened To Recall?
Microsoft announced on Wednesday, Aug. 21, that its controversial Recall AI search feature, previously heralded as a “privacy nightmare,” will be released to Windows users for testing in October.
The feature, initially slated for a June debut, was met with widespread concern from security experts warning that the AI search feature could create a treasure trove of personal information for potential bad actors.
Microsoft’s Recall takes constant screenshots of activities on screen so users can easily search for information they saw earlier.
The idea behind this is that all of the data will be stored and indexed locally on a PC, allowing users to easily search for lost websites, documents, and conversations.
Microsoft’s AI search feature was originally slated to be part of its highly anticipated Copilot Plus PC , which was released on June 18.
However, the tech giant was forced to delay its release following a myriad of concerns raised by experts and users.
“We have heard a clear signal that we can make it easier for people to choose to enable Recall on their Copilot+ PC and improve privacy and security safeguards,” Pavan Davuluri, corporate vice president of Windows and devices, said in June.
Recall a Huge Privacy and Security Risk?
Microsoft said that Recall will now be “trustworthy and secure,” but it has not provided any details on the features’ security changes.
“Security continues to be our top priority, and when Recall is available for Windows Insiders in October, we will publish a blog with more details,” Microsoft said.
In June, when early versions of Recall began being released to Windows candidates, an ethical hacker launched a tool that successfully gained access to all information stored on the machine.
Writing about the tool on GitHub , hacker Alex Hagenah said: “TotalRecall copies the databases and screenshots and then parses the database for potentially interesting artifacts.”
“You can define dates to limit the extraction as well as search for strings (that were extracted via Recall OCR) of interest. There is no rocket science behind all this,” he added.
Microsoft’s AI PC Bet
Like every other tech giant, Microsoft is betting big on AI and integrating the technology into almost all of its systems and hardware.
The Copilot Plus PC has become an important part of Microsoft’s strategy to bring AI to the mainstream.
The PCs are specifically designed to run AI tasks on neural processing units, giving users access to expansive video editing, data management, and, of course, Recall.
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