It’s been a arduous few weeks for Microsoft Co-pilot+ a feature that hasn’t even launched yet. After being appealed for security reasons before by default it is an opt-in optionRecall is currently completely delayed.
IN blog post on the Windows website on Thursday, Windows+ Devices corporate vice president Pavan Davuliri wrote that on June 18, Recall will no longer launch with Copilot+ AI laptops and will instead be moved to Windows Insider Preview “in the coming weeks.”
“We are adapting the Recall release model to leverage the expertise of the Windows Insider Community and ensure the experience meets our high quality and security standards,” Davuluri explained.
The AI feature has been plagued by security issues
This is a large blow to Microsoft as Recall was supposed to be the main feature of its large AI laptop support. The idea was for it to act like a computer’s scroll button, taking continuous screenshots and allowing you to search past activity to recall everything you’ve done in the past, from reviewing your browsing habits to keeping track of venerable school notes. However, this feature has also raised concerns about who has access to this data.
Davuliri explains in his post that screenshots are stored locally and that Recall does not send screenshots to Microsoft. It also says snapshots have “per-user encryption,” which prevents them from being viewed by administrators and others logged in to the same device.
At the same time, security researchers managed to do just that unhide and extract text file which the pre-release version of Recall uses for storage, and which they claimed was unencrypted. This puts your passwords and financial information at risk of being stolen by hackers or even a nosy roommate.
Davuliri wasn’t sure when exactly Windows Insiders would get their hands on Recall, but he thanked the community for sending a “clear signal” that Microsoft needs to do more. Specifically, he attributed the ability to disable Recall by default and force Windows Hello (which requires biometric identification or a PIN) on Recall before users can access it.
Generously, limiting access to Windows Insider Program, which is free for anyone to join, gives Microsoft more time to collect and consider this type of feedback. However, a week before launch, Copilot+ loses the wind, leaving the basic experience almost identical to current versions of Windows (apart from a few innovative applications).
It also puts Qualcomm, which will supply chips for Microsoft’s first Copilot+ PCs, on more level terms with AMD and Intel, which Copilot+ features won’t be available until the end of this year.
