For those who aren’t aware, Microsoft have decided to bake essentially an infostealer into base Windows OS and enable by default.
From the Microsoft FAQ: “Note that Recall does not perform content moderation. It will not hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers."
Info is stored locally - but rather than something like Redline stealing your local browser password vault, now they can just steal the last 3 months of everything you’ve typed and viewed in one database.
I've written up my thoughts on the Copilot Recall feature in Microsoft Copilot+ PCs
I think it will enable fraud and endanger users, and is not the sign of a company who are committed to security first.
The UK’s ICO have opened an investigation into Copilot+ Recall. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwwqp6nx14o
Copilot+ Recall has been enabled by default globally in Microsoft Intune managed users, for businesses.
You need to enable DisableAIDataAnalysis to switch it off. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/manage-recall
Here’s Copilot+ Recall search in action, showing instant text based search finding a WhatsApp chat and a PDF from 6 months ago being viewed on screen.
Two quick updates -
A) if you disallow recording of a website in Control Panel or GPO, in Chrome it is still recorded - disallow recording only works in Edge browser
B) Firefox and Tor Browser is recorded always, including in private mode - the exception is Hollywood DRM’d videos
I got ahold of the Copilot+ software.
Recall uses a bunch of services themed CAP - Core AI Platform. Enabled by default.
It spits constant screenshots (the product brands then “snapshots”, but they’re hooked screenshots) into the current user’s AppData as part of image storage.
The NPU processes them and extracts text, into a database file.
The database is SQLite, and you can access it as the user including programmatically. It 100% does not need physical access and can be stolen.
And if you didn’t believe me.. found this on TikTok.
There’s an MSFT employee in the background saying “I don’t know if the team is going to be very happy…”
They should probably be transparent about it, rather than telling BBC News you’d need to be physically at the PC to hack it (not true). Just a thought.
@GossiTheDog I never doubted for a second that it was actually being done on the NPU.
What I'll _never_ believe is that they'll not be using that stuff to monetize their users. More banners spammed to users, more value for shareholders.
It worths remembering Microsoft's main strategy: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish
This time the target is humans, because fewer humans to pay, more value for the shareholder.