Microsoft\u2019s Windows Recall feature, which stores a timeline of activity snapshots on your PC, has a new release date for Windows Insiders. Microsoft unveiled the feature<\/a> to much fanfare in May, only to delay it indefinitely<\/a> (after blowback from security researchers<\/a>) a few weeks later. After taking time to recalibrate, the company said<\/a> on Wednesday it will roll out Recall to beta testers using Copilot+ PCs<\/a> in October.<\/p>\n Windows Recall stores snapshots of everything you do on your PC. Designed as a \u201cphotographic memory\u201d for your PC activity, it lets you revisit things like products, emails, documents or chats shown on your screen. The feature\u2019s perks are easy to see, especially for those who spend long hours on their PC (or those with foggy memories).<\/p>\n But if that also sounds like a privacy nightmare, security researchers thought so, too. Despite safety assurances from Microsoft during its announcement at Build 2024, cybersecurity and privacy experts sounded the alarm. The fundamental problem was that intruders wouldn\u2019t only get goodies from your traditional file system if they accessed your PC. In addition, they could see anything you\u2019ve done on your computer from the moment you activated Recall to the present. That\u2019s because Microsoft \u2014 for reasons we can\u2019t quite comprehend (other than put AI in all the things as quickly as possible<\/em>) \u2014 left Recall\u2019s data unencrypted.<\/p>\n As security expert Kevin Beaumont detailed<\/a>, Recall didn\u2019t hide sensitive information like passwords or banking details. Sure, your timeline was theoretically safe as long as nobody could access your PC. But if you accidentally installed malware or let an intruder in through other means, they would find a motherlode of sensitive \u2014 unencrypted \u2014\u00a0data.<\/p>\n In response to the blowback, Microsoft added some common-sense security features that left us wondering why they weren\u2019t there in the first place. Again, it\u2019s hard to decipher the company\u2019s motives for that omission when the feature was announced \u2014\u00a0other than speculating that it wanted to prioritize a seamless user experience over tight security.<\/p>\n These security changes<\/a> included making the feature opt-in instead of enabled by default when setting up a Copilot+ PC. In addition, Microsoft said the feature would require Windows Hello<\/a> \u2014 a face or fingerprint scan \u2014 and deploy \u201cjust in time\u201d decryption (only unlocked through Hello). That means if a hacker gains access to your computer, your screenshot timeline should remain encrypted unless you lend your face or finger to unlock it (or they somehow find a way around Hello\u2019s encryption).<\/p>\n Microsoft says it will publish a new blog post when the feature is available in October through the Windows 11 Insider Program<\/a>. The feature will require a CoPilot+ PC (the first of which launched in June<\/a>) with a compatible chip. That chip list includes Qualcomm\u2019s Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite<\/a>, although Intel may have its first CoPilot+ chips<\/a> out in the wild when the feature finally arrives in preview.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n