News Microsoft backtracks on new Recall feature — enhancing Recall's security and making it an opt-in decision

[Admin]

Days before Copilot+ laptops ship to customers, Microsoft has addressed security and privacy concerns centered around one of the AI features developed for the platform.

Microsoft backtracks on new Recall feature — enhancing Recall's security and making it an opt-in decision : Read more

 

[Colif]

not surprised... wonder how much beta testing they did on that.

Glad it only works on co pilot+ devices. I won't have to worry about it until it ever transitions to desktop.

 

[abufrejoval]

Now they just need to make that standard behavior on each and every of these new features, they keep thinking up.

Enabling updates is a permission to do maintenance, not to take over the house and rebuild it to their fancy.

 

[PEnns]

"For example, you could ask, “What did Grandma say?” it would locate the last instant message thread or email chain with your grandmother."

I am certain grandma would say: "Don't trust anyone with you data. Especially Microsoft, but also Google!!

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

Time will tell, but Microsoft’s new direction for the feature is undoubtedly a step in the right direction.

Amazing how they listened to criticism about Recall but have so far ignored all the other legitimate criticisms of Windows 11 which are keeping, or preventing in the case of the artificial TPM 2.0 requirement, people from using it. People aren't going to suddenly jump to 11 from 10 now that Recall is opt-in, nor as long as Microsoft continues to spend time and resources on niche features and finding ways to sneak (so far disableable, but for how long?) ads into it.

 

[Geef]

The Recall AI needs a 'Grandparent' option. It detects if your relative is talking to a person located in India and disables viewing of screenshots immediately.

Data about above: The FBI has reported that US citizens have lost more than $10 billion to call centers from India running scams in the last 11 months of 2022.

 

[pixelpusher220]

Cue Windows Update KB 90046666666666666 'accidentally' turning it on

Or hey a hacker that doesn't even have to do much, just flip the on switch and literally let MS do the snooping for them.

That it *exists* to be turned on is a systemic vulnerability in Windows security, that 90% of people can't get away from.

 

[FoxtrotMichael-1]

This feature is just so stupid. Who is asking for this trash?!

 

[MacZ24]

They need to call it 'Stasi'.

I don't think there is a legitimate use case for this kind of totalitarian 'feature'.

Except maybe for employers who feel the need to track their WFH employees.

Activated or not, there is a malware engine in this OS. It may or may not be activated at any point in time by 'someone' and you will have no clue about it.

It relies on 'trust us : we are the good guys', when history points to the exact opposite.

 

[USAFRet]

This feature is just so stupid. Who is asking for this trash?!

I know one or two people who will embrace this "1,000 %"

One dude at work is pissed that I disallow any "AI" solutions in our code.

 

[mhmarefat]

This feature is just so stupid. Who is asking for this trash?!

When was the last time Microsoft (and the likes of it) asked for peoples' opinion about any of their decisions? Are they asking for your opinion when they collect any information they want from your PC and give that to anyone they want?
No, they have a "experimental approach" to people. They implement something new, if the masses "made some noise", they'll find a way to implement it non the less but in a more subtle way.

You may not believe it, but it is Microsoft (and the likes of it) not you, who knows what's best for you. (/s BTW)

 

[subspruce]

not surprised... wonder how much beta testing they did on that.

Glad it only works on co pilot+ devices. I won't have to worry about it until it ever transitions to desktop.

they will soon have it upon tons of people with 30 series, 40 series, RX 6000 series, RX 7000 series dGPUs

 

[MacZ24]

You may not believe it, but it is Microsoft (and the likes of it) not you, who knows what's best for you.

Microsoft and other corporations are doing what is best for THEM. That the consumer benefits may be incidental, but is not automatic nor always possible. As evidenced by the rash of anti-consumer actions by these corporations in the last years in order to extract growth at any cost in mostly saturated markets.

 

[pixelpusher220]

They need to call it 'Stasi'.

I don't think there is a legitimate use case for this kind of totalitarian 'feature'.

Except maybe for employers who feel the need to track their WFH employees.

Activated or not, there is a malware engine in this OS. It may or may not be activated at any point in time by 'someone' and you will have no clue about it.

It relies on 'trust us : we are the good guys', when history points to the exact opposite.

the concept is perfectly fine. "Hey can you find that power point I was working on 6 months ago with nike logo?" Perfect logical extension of computing usage to want it to remember so we don't have to.

The implementation here is the issue.

And every bit of this surveillance tech has existed in windows for decades. Corps use it all the time. The only new part is forcing it to home users and using AI to do they image analysis.

 

[MacZ24]

the concept is perfectly fine. "Hey can you find that power point I was working on 6 months ago with nike logo?" Perfect logical extension of computing usage to want it to remember so we don't have to.

You found a use case that is professionnal.

Then sell it as a professionnal software to professionnals.

There is little use of this in an OS. I'm not young and my memory is not perfect but I have little use to remembering what I'm doing on my computers from weeks or months ago.

Spy software had to be installed. This won't be the case anymore.

 

[subspruce]

You found a use case that is professionnal.

Then sell it as a professionnal software to professionnals.

There is little use of this in an OS. I'm not young and my memory is not perfect but I have little use to remembering what I'm doing on my computers from weeks or months ago.

Spy software had to be installed. This won't be the case anymore.

the malware won

 

[parkerthon]

This feature is just so stupid. Who is asking for this trash?!

If Microsoft didn’t try to do something like this, Apple and Google would do it. They are trying to innovate but, per usual, are completely tone deaf to feedback both internally and externally. It’s only when their big spending enterprise customers complain that they finally react. Like how they thought they could announce a feature like this without a serious level of preparation for the inevitable blow back is beyond me.

 

[ThomasKinsley]

Just enough privacy risks to make it a security threat.
Just enough hoops to jump through to convince most people not to turn it on.

That's MS in a nutshell.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

In my opinion recall is an idiotic feature that should never be included in any os period.

 

[tamalero]

"listened"? You mean forced? what about the anti trust issues and the hacking?

Jesus, that line didn't feel anything correct lmao.

And how much you guys want to bet that it will be still silently released slowly as time goes by?+

You may not believe it, but it is Microsoft (and the likes of it) not you, who knows what's best for you.

How much stock you own lmao.

 

[mhmarefat]

You may not believe it, but it is Microsoft (and the likes of it) not you, who knows what's best for you.

How much stock you own lmao.

Microsoft and other corporations are doing what is best for THEM. That the consumer benefits may be incidental, but is not automatic nor always possible. As evidenced by the rash of anti-consumer actions by these corporations in the last years in order to extract growth at any cost in mostly saturated markets.

how is this possible lol. how was that sentence taken at face value? I'm sorry for my bad english!

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

I know one or two people who will embrace this "1,000 %"

One dude at work is pissed that I disallow any "AI" solutions in our code.

You should tell him that if AI can provide a solution then we don't need him.

 

[USAFRet]

You should tell him that if AI can provide a solution then we don't need him.

Oh, I did...

 

[vijosef]

It's done to fish the naive, and then will be enabled by default with a windows update, which will also add more intrusive spyware.

 

[vijosef]

They need to call it 'Stasi'.

I don't think there is a legitimate use case for this kind of totalitarian 'feature'.

George Orwell, 1984

The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely.

The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.