Microsoft Recall Has Been Recalled
Well, after coming out with a feature that everyone said was a security disaster, and trying to make it better to make their problems go away, it appears that Microsoft has thrown in the towel when it comes to Recall. At least for now. Microsoft has posted this revised blog post late yesterday:
Update: June 13, 2024: Today, we are communicating an additional update on the Recall (preview) feature for Copilot+ PCs. Recall will now shift from a preview experience broadly available for Copilot+ PCs on June 18, 2024, to a preview available first in the Windows Insider Program (WIP) in the coming weeks. Following receiving feedback on Recall from our Windows Insider Community, as we typically do, we plan to make Recall (preview) available for all Copilot+ PCs coming soon.
We are adjusting the release model for Recall to leverage the expertise of the Windows Insider community to ensure the experience meets our high standards for quality and security. This decision is rooted in our commitment to providing a trusted, secure and robust experience for all customers and to seek additional feedback prior to making the feature available to all Copilot+ PC users. Additionally, as we shared in our May 3 blog, security is our top priority at Microsoft, in line with our Secure Future Initiative (SFI). This is reflected in additional security protections we are providing for Recall content, 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. The development of Copilot+ PCs, Recall and Windows will continue to be guided by SFI.
When Recall (preview) becomes available in the Windows Insider Program, we will publish a blog post with details on how to get the preview. To try Recall (preview) WIP customers will need a Copilot+ PC due to our hardware requirements. We look forward to hearing Windows Insider feedback.
If you want my take on this, “soon” may mean anywhere from weeks or months from now to never. Microsoft has really dropped themselves in this and this delay, if you want to call it that, for Recall was likely the least worst option. Frankly, I would not be shocked if this feature never sees the light of day outside of Microsoft. And I have to wonder how much the announcement of Apple Intelligence which promises to be private played into this? I say that because Apple has created a clear contrast between themselves and Microsoft that doesn’t make Microsoft look good. We’ll never know if that’s the case. But I for one am happy that Recall has been Recalled.
August 14, 2024 at 8:49 am
[…] will be interesting to see how this plays out. While I don’t expect this level of pushback from users. I expect some to question why Microsoft is doing this. And Microsoft […]