Security News > 2024 > May > Windows’ new Recall feature: A privacy and security nightmare?

Microsoft has announced the Copilot+ line of Windows 11-powered PCs that, among other things, will have Recall, a feature that takes screenshots every few seconds, encrypts them, saves them, and leverages AI to allow users to search through them for specific content that has been viewed in apps, websites, documents, etc.

"Once you find the snapshot that you were looking for in Recall, it will be analysed and offer you options to interact with the content. What actions you can take depend on the content and the chat provider capabilities in Copilot in Windows. For example, you may highlight a block of text and decide to summarise it, translate it, or open it with a text editor like Word or Notepad. If you highlight an image, you will be able to edit it or use your chat provider in Copilot in Windows to find or create a similar image," Microsoft explains.

Recall does not take snapshots of InPrivate web browsing sessions in Microsoft Edge, DRM-protected content, but "Will not hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers, especially when sites do not follow standard internet protocols like cloaking password entry." Users can pause the creation of snapshots, delete them, and switch Recall off.

The possible security and privacy pitfalls of Windows Recall.

"Microsoft are inventing a new security nightmare using Copilot, which will undoubtedly lead to increased fraud for consumers and other woes for businesses," he opined.

Then: How much do you trust Microsoft? The company is not using Recall snapshots now, but that can easily change in the future.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2024/05/22/windows-recall-security-privacy/