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Controversial Windows feature Recall postponed at the last minute

Copilot+ will have to make do without its 'photographic memory'

Controversial Windows feature Recall postponed at the last minute

Windows Recall, the OS feature that monitors user behaviour, is being delayed. After Microsoft had planned to roll it out in public preview next week, it now appears that a select group of testers will have their turn later.

Recall is the most talked-about feature within Copilot+ PCs, computers with a Microsoft-certified level of (economical) AI performance. It stores 25GB of user behaviour in encrypted form. It’s intended for the AI-driven Copilot features to be informed about users’ actions.

Not desirable

We already touched on Recall’s privacy implications when it was unveiled at the earlier Microsoft Build. When Microsoft recently made it an opt-in feature for Windows users, it seemed like a gesture to address such concerns.

Now it appears that Microsoft, too, has realized it needs to backtrack even further. As a result, Recall misses the launch date of Copilot+ PCs on June 18, when a fleet of such systems make their debut. So Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and Microsoft itself will have to make do with AI PCs without a “photographic memory” for a while.

Where does it appear?

Microsoft’s tactical withdrawal is toward the Windows Insider Program. It is strange that this was not intended beforehand. Experimental options have a chance to “briefly land” with the most affable users precisely through the Insider channel. That could be a relatively uncontroversial feature like “Dark Mode” in Windows 10, but also fundamental redesigns of the Start menu or the biometric authentication Windows Hello.

Also read: Microsoft reminds users that Windows 10 21H2 support will end soon