Microsoft is once again delaying the release of its Windows Recall AI feature. In August, the company said the feature would be available in October to Insiders with Copilot+ PCs.
Microsoft has had issues with the feature's release before. It originally planned to release it in public preview on June 19th, when the new Copilot+ AI PCs were released.
As first reported by The Verge, Microsoft said the Windows Recall was postponed for further testing due to significant customer backlash demanding stronger privacy and security protections.
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In June, cybersecurity expert Kevin Beaumontexplained that an attacker could gain remote access to a device running Recall using malware.
According to Beaumont, there are various malware such as InfoStealer trojans, which automatically steal usernames and passwords and can be modified to support data theft from Windows Recall.
“We are committed to delivering a secure and reliable experience with Recall. We recently shared updates to our security and privacy architecture in a Windows Blog post,” said Windows senior product manager Brandon LeBlanc.
“To ensure we deliver these important updates, we are taking extra time to improve the experience before previewing to Windows Insiders. Originally scheduled for October, Recall will eventually be available for preview to Windows Insiders with Copilot+ PCs by December.”
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Microsoft first revealed its new AI feature, Windows Recall, in May. At the time, it said the feature is designed to take screenshots of active windows every few seconds, analyze them on the device using an artificial intelligence and a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), and store the data in a SQLite database.
Windows 11 users can search for this information using natural language to ask Recall to retrieve relevant screenshots.
Security and privacy issues
Since Microsoft announced Recall, many customers and cybersecurity experts have been concerned about privacy protection, as if cybercriminals abuse the feature, they will be able to steal important data.
In response to the negative comments, the company said that users will have to enable Recall on their computers themselves and will have to verify that they are in front of computer via Windows Helloin order to use it.
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Microsoft's David Weston also said that Recall can be removed, automatically filters sensitive content, and allows users to exclude specific apps, websites, or in-private browsing sessions. Weston added that Recall will include malware protection features.
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com
