Controversial Windows Recall Back from the Dead

Microsoft's controversial Windows 11 feature that takes repeated screenshots of user activity is back in testing. The Windows Recall feature had been put on pause after intense criticism about privacy implications.

The idea of Windows Recall is to improve the computer's ability to search for past information. At the moment searching for something you did in the past has some significant limitations: not all activity is stored in the same way, and searching across multiple applications and media formats isn't always smooth.

AI Database

Microsoft believed the answer is to combine artificial intelligence and a "explorable timeline of your PC's past" by taking a screenshot every five seconds. The idea is that if you wanted to find a record of a restaurant that you searched for online or a document you were working on, Windows Recall could act as a one-stop shop for finding the details. It would look through the database of screenshots and identify the moment when you were performing a particular activity or looking at specific information. (Source: techdirt.com)

The idea got a hostile response from privacy activists who noted the obvious privacy and security implications of having a single database that could contain all manner of personal information and private activity. Were this database to be breached and remotely access, the consequences could be embarrassing at best and highly damaging at worst.

Security Measures

Microsoft initially responded by announcing Windows Recall would be an opt-in system and that the database would be encrypted and only accessible through the Windows Hello authentication system where users can choose between a PIN code or biometric details such as facial recognition or fingerprints. That didn't satisfy everyone and Microsoft appeared to put the entire project on hold. (Source: arstechnica.com)

Now it says it's bringing it back for an opt-in test program with some additional security measures:

• Users will be able to completely uninstall Windows Recall rather than simply choose not to activate it.
   
• The encryption will mean other user accounts on the same machine won't be able to access it.
   
• All processing will be done on the machine without any remote access.
   
• There will be a set of filters that automatically remove some sensitive details such as card numbers.
   
• Users can block specific apps and websites from being recorded.
   
• Users can delete some stored information without having to wipe the entire database.

What's Your Opinion?

Would you use Recall? Are these security changes sufficient? Is this technology solving a real problem?