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“Recall” is now opt-in: Microsoft changes new Windows AI features after backlash

After weeks of harsh criticism from cybersecurity experts, Microsoft is taking steps to address concerns about its new AI-powered computer history archiving feature, Copilot+ Recall.

Most notably, Microsoft is changing Recall from a default feature to one that users must first opt ​​in to. The company is making this change ahead of Recall’s official release on June 18.

“We’re updating the Copilot+ PC setup experience to more clearly give you the option to save snapshots using Recall,” said Pavan Davulli, Microsoft’s vice president of Windows. Official Company Updates Regarding this feature: “It will be off by default unless you actively turn it on.”

Responding to the anti-recall movement

Last month, Microsoft announced a series of new AI-powered features coming to Windows, and one of the core features the company announced was Recall.

reference:

OpenAI, Google DeepMind insiders issue serious warning about AI

Recall continuously takes screenshots in the background while you use your device, then Microsoft’s AI scans the screenshots and turns them into a searchable archive of all the activity you did, including which websites you visited, what forms you filled out, and more. Almost all It will be saved.

Cybersecurity experts quickly ConcernedA prominent former Microsoft threat analyst with hands-on experience with Recall described the feature as “disaster

As it turns out, Recall actually stores almost all of your information, including text passwords, sensitive financial information, private history in your Google Chrome browser, etc. And because Recall stores it in a database, it can be easily accessed by bad actors who have remote control over your device.

Mashable Lightspeed

To make matters worse, Recall was meant to be a feature that was on by default, meaning users may not even have been aware of what was going on in the background on their devices.

Thankfully, going forward, users will need to opt-in to the feature with a full understanding of what they’re turning on and what Recall will do.

Further expansion of recall security features

Microsoft isn’t just making Recall opt-in: The company also announced that to enable Recall, users must also be enrolled in Windows Hello, a security feature that requires them to sign in with facial recognition, a fingerprint, or a PIN.

The same authentication will be required if users wish to access or search the recall history timeline.

Additionally, Microsoft says it is “adding an extra layer of data protection”: Recall snapshots will only be decrypted and accessible after users authenticate, and the search index database will now also be encrypted.

Microsoft’s blog post about the Recall security update also highlighted some of the security provisions already built in, such as screenshots only being available locally on the device. The feature already provided a visual indicator that it was in use (a Recall icon pinned to the taskbar on the user’s desktop), but if Recall had been on by default, many users may not have known what the icon meant.

The new opt-in option should make it clear that users are consenting to Recall’s activities.




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