Microsoft’s Recall feature – designed for Copilot+ PCs – has been controversial since day one. It started from the feature riddled with security flaws, to a full-scale recall (pun intended), and later re-developed with stringent measures in place to prevent data from leaving the machine. Despite that, some app developers are staying on the safe side by explicitly blocking Recall from accessing contents from their apps.
Microsoft Recall’s Trust Issues Continue
So far, three app developers has blocked Recall: messaging app Signal, ad-blocking tool AdGuard, and web browser Brave. Signal first initiated the ban in May this year, by using the same feature that blocks devices from screenshotting in DRM-protected apps like Netflix (although this also blocks regular screenshots, which can be annoying for some). Just this week, AdGuard and Brave both announced similar measures.
In Signal’s case, part of the reason why its developers resorted to a blanket ban like this comes down to the lack of API access. On paper, if Microsoft opens up API for developers to determine which parts of the app can be captured via its photographic memory feature, this allows them to block only the sensitive information and allow the rest for AI processing; in fact, Microsoft already identifies private browsing sessions as a no-go for Recall by default.
Both AdGuard and Brave are more bullish with their reasoning behind the decision – the lack of trust. The adblock maker said Microsoft’s measures “doesn’t quite cut it,” while the browser’s developers said the company’s “initial tone-deaf announcement does not inspire confidence.” As such, both apps will enable Recall-blocking measures by default, and in Brave’s case, this is done by effectively telling the operating system that every browsing tab is a private session, even when it’s not.
Keep in mind that Recall is currently available to Copilot+ PCs, which so far is limited to laptops featuring Intel Core Ultra 200V (Lunar Lake) processors, AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processors, and Qualcomm Snapdragon X series SoCs, as these are the only models with enough NPU power to support the feature. However, expect this to expand to all new laptops in the coming years, so privacy-minded users should pay extra attention.
Source: The Verge
Pokdepinion: More developers should do the same, honestly.
