With the launch of the new Copilot+PC computers, Microsoft introduced an innovative function called “Recall”, which continuously records the screen. Recall creates snapshots of the screen content every five seconds, which are stored and processed locally. This provides users with the ability to search screen content in natural language and automatically obtain results, including visual matches.
It is crucial to consider this feature critically, as the capture and storage of screen content containing sensitive information could have devastating consequences in the event of a data breach. The current implementation of Recall stores the data unencrypted in a SQLite database and the screenshots in an accessible folder on the computer. This practice poses potential security risks, as unencrypted data can be vulnerable to unauthorized access and misuse.
Microsoft plans to offer Recall with opt-in when Windows 11 is installed. The prerequisite for using this feature is a Copilot+ computer with NPU. According to Microsoft, however, Recall will be released as a preview as part of the Windows Insider Program (WIP) in the coming weeks. In view of this, a careful review of the implementation of Recall in a personal and corporate context should be carried out to ensure appropriate security precautions.