New Windows AI feature records everything you’ve done on your PC

[Kenrou]

"At a Build conference event on Monday, Microsoft revealed a new AI-powered feature called "Recall" for Copilot+ PCs that will allow Windows 11 users to search and retrieve their past activities on their PC. To make it work, Recall records everything users do on their PC, including activities in apps, communications in live meetings, and websites visited for research. Despite encryption and local storage, the new feature raises privacy concerns for certain Windows users. "Recall uses Copilot+ PC advanced processing capabilities to take images of your active screen every few seconds," Microsoft says on its website. "The snapshots are encrypted and saved on your PC’s hard drive. You can use Recall to locate the content you have viewed on your PC using search or on a timeline bar that allows you to scroll through your snapshots.""

New Windows AI feature records everything you’ve done on your PC

Recall uses AI features “to take images of your active screen every few seconds.”…

arstechnica.com

 

[EarthDog]

lol... disable.

...I guess we'll see this on desktops with NPUs. Watch out Snapdragon X users!

 

[mackerel]

It's suppose to be done all local, although there's always a risk of leakage. New AMD and Intel CPUs wont be far behind with NPUs so we'll all have to deal with it sooner or later.

Side note: can it run outside of a NPU too? There's a lot of talk about the AI performance of these new Snapdragons. On looking it up, my 3 year old laptop with nvidia GPU has about 10x the AI performance of these new ones. My power efficiency will be a LOT worse, but if you want to get it done, it'll do it! So I wonder if Windows has to have the device present as NPU or not. Maybe future dGPU drivers could also present them as a virtual NPU device.

 

[Titanoni]

To hell with such features. Block immediately.

 

[Kenrou]

Months away from release and already hacked

This Hacker Tool Extracts All the Data Collected by Windows’ New Recall AI

Windows Recall takes a screenshot every five seconds. Cybersecurity researchers say the system is simple to abuse—and one ethical hacker has already built a tool to show how easy it really is.

www.wired.com

00:00 - Intro
01:05 - What Is CoPilot Recall?
03:02 - No Trust in Microsoft
05:20 - Nothing is Encrypted
12:45 - Total Recall
16:50 - This is all Nonsense
20:45 - Linux Gives You Choice

 

[Janus67]

Shocked. Shocked. Well not that shocked.

 

[EarthDog]

Yeah, can't say I'm surprised at this either... but whatrugunnadew?

 

[Flamethrower1972]

There should be a way to disable it. Here we go again.

 

[freakdiablo]

lol... disable.

...I guess we'll see this on desktops with NPUs. Watch out Snapdragon X users!

More than snapdragon users. The 185 in my new laptop has one

Edit: actually been thinking about it this afternoon. If they really follow through with it and there's no easy way to disable it, I'll have a good reason to toss Debian on the laptop, see if I could handle it as a daily OS. Have zero reason to have windows on the thing. (After I get the thing working, of course...)

 

[Kenrou]

OMG, M$ listened to the backlash for once, colour me impressed

- First, we are updating the set-up experience of Copilot+ PCs to give people a clearer choice to opt-in to saving snapshots using Recall. If you don’t proactively choose to turn it on, it will be off by default.
- Second, Windows Hello enrollment is required to enable Recall. In addition, proof of presence is also required to view your timeline and search in Recall.
- Third, we are adding additional layers of data protection including “just in time” decryption protected by Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS) so Recall snapshots will only be decrypted and accessible when the user authenticates. In addition, we encrypted the search index database.

Update on the Recall preview feature for Copilot+ PCs

Update Oct. 31, 2024: We are committed to delivering a secure and trusted experience with Recall. We recently shared updates to the security and privacy architecture for Recall in a

blogs.windows.com

 

[freakdiablo]

OMG, M$ listened to the backlash for once, colour me impressed

... It means they've either added something or planning to.

 

[Kenrou]

"A recent Windows previewer noticed an uninstall feature for Windows Recall, but Microsoft came out and said this is a bug. It can't be uninstalled! We discuss the issues."

Microsoft says its Recall uninstall option in Windows 11 is just a bug

Recall won’t be available until October for Windows testers.

www.theverge.com

GitHub - openrecall/openrecall: OpenRecall is a fully open-source, privacy-first alternative to proprietary solutions like Microsoft's Windows Recall. With OpenRecall, you can easily access your digital history, enhancing your memory and productivity

OpenRecall is a fully open-source, privacy-first alternative to proprietary solutions like Microsoft's Windows Recall. With OpenRecall, you can easily access your digital history, enhancing you...

github.com

00:00 - Intro
03:10 - Can We Uninstall It?
04:56 - Uninstalling is a Bug!!
06:34 - The Big Question
10:28 - Why I Switched to Linux
13:03 - OpenRecall

 

[Woomack]

No matter what MS does, gamers don't have a big choice unless they go with modified installers. I bet we will see some of those soon as every stupid MS idea meets the modded Windows installer answer.

 

[Pepi93]

I'm shocked that more companies are jumping on board to keep track of and spy on everything we say and do. Time to b-line for the forest with zero survival skills.

 

[Audioaficionado]

You can disable a lot of this crap, but it gets tiring playing 'whack a mole' after every update. I use OOSU10 for my Windows 10 install to manage most of the unwanted changes.

 

[Kenrou]

"Microsoft Recall Mandatory on Windows 11 24H2"

"So is Micrsoft Recall installed and running on every pc? It seems to be installed on 24H2 and is Enabled by default, which it should not be. Its running as a dependency in File Explorer. You can disable the Recall feature by using the commands below. Remember to use Recall, you would need a Copilot + PC. You activity and data is NOT being recorded in 24H2. Also Recall data is stored on the PC if you use Recall. My only concern is, why was RECALL enabled by default? Microsoft said it would be a opt in."

Commands:
Check if RECALL is enabled:
Dism /Online /Get-Featureinfo /Featurename:Recall
Disable RECALL:
Dism /Online /Disable-Feature /Featurename:Recall
Enable RECALL:
Dism /Online /Enable-Feature /Featurename:Recall

 

[Janus67]

I think mandatory is a strong word. It isn't forced on and unable to be disabled.

But even less reason to consider one of those computers (I have no need for one so it's entirely out of my consideration to begin with)

 

[rainless]

I think mandatory is a strong word. It isn't forced on and unable to be disabled.

But even less reason to consider one of those computers (I have no need for one so it's entirely out of my consideration to begin with)

I don't get what you're talking about:

It IS forced on... and it can't be disabled easily at all. I'd go so far as to say your average person wouldn't be able to do it.

Hell... I'm your FAR ABOVE AVERAGE person and I'm not exactly sure how to do it.

The technique Kenrou mentioned doesn't quite cut it.

"Microsoft Recall Mandatory on Windows 11 24H2"

"My only concern is, why was RECALL enabled by default? Microsoft said it would be a opt in."

They LIED.

Commands:
Check if RECALL is enabled:
Dism /Online /Get-Featureinfo /Featurename:Recall
Disable RECALL:
Dism /Online /Disable-Feature /Featurename:Recall
Enable RECALL:
Dism /Online /Enable-Feature /Featurename:Recall

It's really not as simple as all that. (Watch the video I posted above). Recall is a dependency for like a LOT of things. I don't think those commands really disable it everywhere. It's my impressed that the command merely disables certain recall feature... but Recall will absolutely still be used even after you do this.

Again... that's the impression I get. I have no intention of upgrading to 24H2.

 

[Kenrou]

It's a grey area, SUPPOSEDLY it's not turned on in PCs without copilot BUT it's installed, you can't remove it without breaking windows (they will make sure of it), and there's at least one service running in the background in every PC, ALWAYS, which the command I posted turns off at least temporarily.

They did lie, they made it a part of every system which was not supposed to happen (remember, copilot only), and in my opinion the only reason it's not fully running in the background is EU laws which would allow M$ to be sued into oblivion. Hence these "ghost" changes that users are not supposed to know about.

Hopefully ShutUp10 or an ISO change/powershell command can fully deal with this in the future

 

[mackerel]

Wasn't it a Copilot+ feature, not just Copilot. When (not if) dGPUs get supported every gaming PC can be a Copilot+ PC.