A UK watchdog is asking Microsoft to explain how it will safeguard user data. Meanwhile, security experts are concerned Recall will be abused to spy on users’ activities.
A new Microsoft feature that can remember everything you do on your PC is attracting regulatory scrutiny in the UK over concerns it’ll be abused to violate users’ privacy.
At a pre-Build press event on Monday, Microsoft introduced Recall, a feature coming to Copilot+ PCs running Windows 11. The system will «take images of your active screen every few seconds» and save them locally on your PC in an encrypted format. This includes screenshots of your passwords or financial information that could appear on your PC, as Microsoft’s FAQ says.
Redmond is marketing the feature as a convenient way to pull up old files, emails, or web pages you’ve lost track of or closed. But Recall’s surveillance potential is also drawing concern from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which handles data-protection issues.
«We are making inquiries with Microsoft to understand the safeguards in place to protect user privacy,» the ICO said in a statement on Wednesday.
