Having covered multiple Microsoft events in the past, this week’s special press event revealed where the company will unveil its new line of Surface hardware powered by Qualcomm’s cutting-edge Snapdragon “) was by far the best I’ve seen yet.
And while we didn’t get the beloved Windows Phone back or a Surface themed variantI’m glad to see Microsoft going all-in with Windows on Arm. We don’t have to wait long to get our hands on these shiny products either. Microsoft promises that they will be available next month.
On the Windows side, Microsoft is bringing a plethora of next-generation AI features to Windows 11 in June, including Recall, Live Captions, Windows Studio effects, and more. However, not everyone has access to these advanced features. This is because they require a device with a neural processing unit (NPU) that can deliver up to 40 TOPS of power. Essentially, you need a Copilot+ PC to access it.
Is Windows 11’s Recall feature diabolical?
There’s no expected date yet for when Microsoft plans to ship these new features to “traditional” Windows PCs in the wake of a new era of AI-packed Windows PCs. The Recall feature in particular caught my attention and may be the most interesting feature shipping to Windows 11 next month. Simply put by our Senior Editor Zac Bowden:
“It’s a tool that runs in the background and can take snapshots of everything you see and do on your computer, allowing you to search in natural language for everything you’ve ever done on your PC.”
Bowden’s report also indicates that Recall will include a timeline feature at the top of your screen that will allow you to scroll back based on your search input. The feature can achieve this because it has access to your screen spanning apps, web pages, images and more. Think of it like Microsoft Photos’ scrollbar feature that lets you browse photos taken years ago in seconds, but the only difference here is that Recall has greater access to more than just photos.
I know, what does this mean for your privacy and security? Microsoft has categorically stated that the feature is 100% privacy-oriented. Simply put, the company won’t use any of the data Recall has access to to train its models.
This is because Recall runs NPU on the device, essentially putting you in the driver’s seat absolute control about the way your data is handled. You can also prevent the feature from taking screenshots of specific apps or websites (stored locally on your PC). Users can also choose how long they want to keep the screenshots and how much space will be reserved for this feature. Finally, you can disable the function if you don’t find it useful.
100% privacy-oriented, but users remain concerned
Microsoft’s just-announced Recall is a fun and useful feature that could potentially revolutionize the way we interact with Windows PCs forever, saving time and resources while promoting efficiency and effectiveness. That’s one of the benefits of access to AI anyway.
However, I have been quietly monitoring user reactions to the new feature. Right now everything is kind of in the middle. No one plays it safe or throws caution to the wind and explores the wild side of things where an AI-powered feature spies on everything you do on your PC.
User privacy and security are guaranteed if the past has taught us anything.
This is a Black Mirror episode. Be sure to disable this “feature”. https://t.co/bx1KLqLf67May 20, 2024
In an interview with Joanna Stern of The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated:
“One of the dreams we’ve always had is how we can introduce memory. Right? Photographic memory into what you do on your PC? And now we have it. So it’s called Recall. It’s not a keyword search, right, it’s a semantic search of your entire history. And it’s not just about any document. It can essentially recreate moments from the past.”
Microsoft’s 100% privacy-focused promise for its Recall feature is seemingly being taken with a grain of salt. Billionaire Elon Musk has openly expressed his reservations about the feature film, comparing it to a Black Mirror episode. He stated outright that he will disable the default enabled feature as soon as it ships.
Musk’s sentiments are being echoed loudly on social media platforms, with one user in Reddit’s r/Windows 11 subreddit indicating that it may be time to switch from Windows to Linux after two decades of being an avid Windows user.
I think I’m done. After 20 years of using Windows from r/Windows11
“This is ridiculous. What on earth are Microsoft executives thinking with this extreme spyware?
Just imagine: in 2025, this Copliot+ nonsense will be the only PC people can buy. Most people won’t know about it or change their settings. And the security risk and attack surface of this thing is INSANE. And it doesn’t censor sensitive information? This is the wet dream of hackers, law enforcement, and oppressive governments.
This is fucking outrageous.
I’ve been thinking about switching to Linux, but now I want to switch as soon as possible.”
Microsoft’s Recall feature is quite impressive and I can’t wait to try it out. It will enhance and enhance the way I interact with my PC – an easy way to ‘remember’ where I saw Microsoft announce WinUI 3 at WPF as the recommended native UI platform for Windows in my broad list of Microsoft Build 2024- embargo documents. But the privacy and security concerns are valid, hopefully the NPU on the device will have a definitive answer.