After several delays in its launch and quite strong controversy due to the potential security and privacy problems it posed, Windows Recall is now availableyes indeed, in limited testing phase, and only for Copilot computers
Windows Recall, which takes screenshots of a user’s screen as they work with the computer on which it is activated, offers a searchable timeline of actions, which made the tool provoked criticism from privacy and security experts, but also from users.
After its launch has been postponed for this reason on several occasions, Microsoft has confirmed that it will be in a new version of Windows 11 for the Windows Insider Developer Channel. In this version, in addition to Windows Recall there will be Click To Do, another Copilot+ function in testing with which you can access an interactive layer on the user’s screen.
For now, the number of participants in the Windows Insider program who will be able to test Windows Recall is quite small, since it can only be accessed with Copilot+ type computers with a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. Support for devices powered by Intel and AMD chips is not yet available, although Microsoft has already confirmed it will be coming soon.
This announcement is the first step toward a general release of Windows Recall, which at its launch last spring was described as a privacy nightmare. Due to the commotion caused then, its launch plan, which was scheduled to begin in June, was delayed. Those in Redmond have been working since then to address all the security and privacy concerns raised by experts and users.
Among the changes they have made since then is the need to activate it for it to start working, since now it will come disabled by defaultas well as the mandatory for it to work through biometric identification with Windows Helloblocking the detection of personal data (passwords, credit card numbers, etc.), and incorporating security measures, that is, a “virtualization-based enclave” known as VBS Enclavem, to protect data on users’ devices.
