Technology

Microsoft has built a number of safety features into Windows Recall to ensure that the service can't run secretly in the background. When Windows Recall is enabled, it places a permanent visual indicator icon on the Taskbar to let the user know that Windows Recall is capturing data. This icon cannot be hidden or moved.

Oh my, that one is really cute

Just think they might go from owning 98% of the market to 97% of the market. I am sure this is a nightmare for them.

TL;DR:

• Windows Recall, part of Microsoft's new Copilot+ PC initiative, has sparked major privacy and security concerns.
• The feature uses AI to capture and store screen data locally, allowing users to search for past activities using natural language.
• Despite assurances that data is not uploaded to the cloud or used by Microsoft, user trust is lacking.
• Microsoft has a history of practices that have eroded user trust, including obtrusive ads, ignoring user preferences, and requiring Microsoft Accounts.
• Users are skeptical, fearing future misuse of the collected data for advertising or AI training.
• Windows Recall reportedly stores data unencrypted, making it vulnerable to access by third-party apps and potential malware.
• The open nature of Windows amplifies these risks, unlike more secure systems like iOS and Android.
• Users have compared Windows Recall to spyware, with many threatening to switch to other operating systems like Linux or Mac.
• Microsoft's attempts to keep the development of Windows Recall secret did not help build trust.
• Windows Recall will only be available on new Copilot+ PCs, requiring specific hardware not present in existing PCs.
• Users will have the option to disable the feature, but there are concerns about it being enabled by default.
• Despite security issues, the feature is effective in helping users find lost or forgotten data.
• It could improve productivity if trust and security concerns are resolved.

This is status quo for every large corporation. Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, EVERY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM, Roku.... They all, ALL, push boundaries to see what they can get away with to not only sell you something, but also make you the thing they sell. Sometimes they're bold enough to make it public what they're doing, sometimes, it's a leak that happens when people find out how little the company actually cares about it's users (Apple, so many user data leaks).

Apple ensures its operating systems are clean, polished, and without bloat.

Except for all the uninstallable Apple bloat such as Apple Music, Apple TV, etc. And the numerous bugs and issues, such as still not being able to have the touch pad and mouse scroll wheel have different settings.

You know what would be a nice thing to put into windows?

A fucking decent way to search for files.

Also, grep and tail, as implemented in Linux. It's 2024 and there's no native equivalent to tail -f *.log. How embarrassing.

Ya, a PR nightmare for the next 15 minutes until the next unbelievable thing comes along and the ADD nature of people forgets windows is watching everything they do.

I figured on my gaming and VR rig that I’d begrudgingly upgrade it to W11 when W10 stopped receiving security updates and support but at this point the recall feature (which will be used to train LLMs regardless of what Microsoft promises or guarantees) has ensured that I never install that kind of spyware as an operating system.

I’d rather spend forever troubleshooting and getting my Valve Index to work with Ubuntu than deal with a giant backdoor.

And yet again, install Linux. Leave Microsoft behind

I don't want to be the guy that always says Linux, but... ...Linux

It's also important to remember that Microsoft has no monetary incentive to force people to use Windows Recall.

With that in mind, there would be no reason for Microsoft to automatically enable Windows Recall in an update down the line. If it does happen, the user will be able to instantly tell thanks to that that visual indicator and turn it off again.

This article is nothing but propaganda. There is huge monetary incentive to force people to use Windows Recall and collect their data, and Microsoft routinely uses Windows Update to enable data collection. They began that practice years ago on Windows 7. It's a ridiculously simple matter for MS to disable the visual indicator and force This Week's Plan on their users to monetize their data.

Windows Central pretends to be critical of plans to enable a feature that can be made into malware by Microsoft in a couple of minutes, but then back peddles and says it can't be done (utter BS) and if it could be, it wouldn't be that bad.

I mean 95% of their customers probably don't care or even know what Recall is but...