Microsoft Announces Another Delay for Testing AI-Powered Recall Feature

Microsoft on Wednesday announced yet another delay for its artificial intelligence (AI) feature Recall. The feature, part of the company’s Copilot+ PC offering with its Windows operating system, tracks and displays a user’s history on the device using automatically captured screenshots. The feature was first announced in May, but due to public concerns about its privacy and security, the tech giant rolled it back. It was then announced that it would be released in preview mode to Windows Insiders in August. Now, however, the company has announced another delay, moving it to October.

Microsoft’s AI-powered recall postponed until October

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

However, the company has not publicly announced any release timelines. The company only revealed that it will consider feedback from its Windows Insiders community before rolling out the feature to everyone.

When the feature first rolled out, several users noted that screenshots saved by the feature were stored unencrypted and could be viewed by anyone with access to the device. Public concern led to Microsoft recalling the feature, stating that it would make it more secure.

The company then published a blog post detailing the steps it had taken to improve the feature’s security. First, Recall was made fully opt-in, with the device asking for explicit permission before the feature was enabled. It was also integrated with the Windows Hello security feature, which uses biometric authentication or a PIN to grant users access to the device.

Additionally, a new “proof of presence” feature was also mentioned, which would protect the user in the event that the device was remotely compromised. A secondary encryption system was also built into the feature’s search index database, which would prohibit access to the screenshots without going the chatbot route. However, Recall has yet to be released in any capacity with these security measures in place.