Microsoft responds to security concerns with Copilot+ Recall feature

A variety of last-minute changes are being made to Recall — a feature coming to Copilot+ PCs on June 18 — in response to privacy and general security concerns, according to a new blog post from Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for Windows and Devices. Recall takes screenshots of your Windows desktop every few seconds, allowing the Copilot AI to retrieve documents, websites, and other content based on natural-language requests. Under original plans, Recall was going to be on by default — now users will be prompted to opt in or out during first-time Windows 11 setup.

Davaluri notes that you’ll need to use Windows Hello fingerprint, facial, or PIN authentication to enable Recall, as well as to view its timeline and perform any searches. Microsoft is also adding more layers of data security, including an encrypted search index database, and just-in-time decryption for Recall snapshots.

As highlighted by The Verge, the changes were likely prompted by work from cybersecurity expert Kevin Beaumont, who discovered that Recall’s current incarnation stores data in plain text. If that had been left intact for June 18, hackers could’ve potentially developed malware that would raid the data, hunting for things like logins and credit card numbers. Indeed some Recall exfiltration tools have already been released, although they’re likely irrelevant now without updates to reflect Microsoft’s changes.

One measure of security that was already in place is hardware. All Copilot+ PCs have secure cores with firmware protection, as well as a Microsoft Pluton security processor. In theory, though, a user could be still tricked into installing malware.

What’s the deal with Copilot+ PCs?

Microsoft revealed the Copilot+ initiative during a May 21 press event. While some of the first Copilot+ PCs will be Microsoft Surface products such as the new Surface Pro, the term refers to any PC with a processor designed to accelerate Copilot and that meets certain other base specs, including 16GB of RAM. The first wave of computers will include brands like Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung.

The launch also marks a newfound emphasis on ARM processor support in Windows. Past efforts at introducing ARM-compatible PCs have failed, largely due to app compatibility issues and slow performance. Those have supposedly been solved, though Microsoft says it intends to bring Copilot+ to Intel- and AMD-based PCs at a later date, starting with processors based on Lunar Lake and Strix Point architecture.