Updated 10/31/2024:

We are now at the end of October and Windows Insider testers don’t yet have access to Recall, Microsoft’s controversial feature that indiscriminately saves screenshots of your PC when you use it. For what? Well, according to The edgeRecall has been delayed again, after originally being planned for a June launch alongside that of the company and its partners. Copilot+ laptops.

Shortly before this June launch, the feature was pushed back for testing “in the coming weeks” following community outcry over security concerns. In August, this window was moved to Octoberalthough it has always been mysteriously missing from testers in the run-up to Halloween. Now, in a statement to The Verge, Microsoft’s senior product manager for Windows, Brandon LeBlanc, has indicated that Windows Insiders likely won’t be able to try Recall until December.

LeBlanc did not give a clear reason for the continued delay, only saying that Microsoft is “committed to providing a secure and reliable experience with Recall.”

The statement follows previous insurance Microsoft told The Verge reiterating that Recall will be optional and fully removable when enabled. do launch, which in turn was a response to community concerns that it was secretly removed with the recent Windows 24H2 Update (it wasn’t). Still, this kind of community concern could explain why Microsoft is taking its time with Recall, to ensure it ruffles as few feathers as possible given that its initial reveal left users and security experts rather skeptics (on the one hand, it was not always intended to be opt-in).

Slow rolling is probably a good thing. While the idea of ​​being able to use AI to search your PC activities from the past few months seems practical, it also raises important concerns about data collection and storage. That said, the longer Copilot+ goes without its flagship feature, the more likely it will struggle alongside competing AI initiatives like Apple Intelligence.

The original text of this article, published on 06/14/2024, follows below:

The last few weeks have been difficult for Microsoft’s headliner Copilot+ feature, and it hasn’t even launched yet. After being called for security reasons Before being enabled by defaultThe recall is now completely delayed.

In a blog post on the Windows website On Thursday, Windows+ Devices VP Pavan Davuliri wrote that Recall would no longer launch with Copilot+ AI laptops on June 18 and would instead be relegated to a Windows Insider Preview “in the coming weeks.” .

“We’re adjusting Recall’s release model to leverage the expertise of the Windows Insider community to ensure the experience meets our high standards for quality and security,” Davuluri explained.

The AI ​​feature was plagued by security issues

This is a blow to Microsoft, as Recall was supposed to be the flagship feature of its big push into AI laptops. The idea was for it to act as a sort of rewind button for your PC, taking constant screenshots and allowing you to search through your previous activities to keep up to date with everything you’ve done in the past, from reviewing your browsing habits to looking old school. Remarks. But this feature has also raised concerns about who has access to this data.

Davuliri explains in his post that screenshots are stored locally and that Recall does not send snapshots to Microsoft. It also says the snapshots have “per-user encryption” that prevents administrators and others logged into the same device from viewing them.

At the same time, security researchers were able to discover and extract the text file that a pre-release version of Recall uses for storage, which they said was not encrypted. This puts things like passwords and financial information at risk of being stolen by hackers, or even just a nosy roommate.

Davuliri wasn’t sure when Windows Insiders would get their hands on Recall, but thanked the community for giving a “clear signal” that Microsoft needed to do more. Specifically, he thanked the community for the choice to disable reminder by default and enforce Windows Hello (which requires either biometric identification or a PIN) for reminder before users can access it.

Generously, by limiting access to Windows Insider Programwhich anyone can join for free, gives Microsoft more time to collect and evaluate this type of feedback. But it also takes the wind out of Copilot+’s sails just a week before launch, leaving the core experience almost identical to current versions of Windows (aside from a few creative apps).

It also puts Qualcomm, which will supply the chips for Microsoft’s first Copilot+ PCs, on equal footing with AMD and Intel, which will only benefit from Copilot+ features later this year.