Microsoft Continues to Improve: Controversial Recall Feature Now Optional and Removable
The Recall feature, designed and developed specifically for Microsoft Copilot+PC, was previously identified by security researchers to have serious privacy and security issues. Essentially, any other software installed on the user’s device could easily access various private data organized by the Recall feature. Following the exposure of these issues by researchers, Microsoft had no choice but to suspend the rollout of the Recall feature.
Originally scheduled to launch in June 2024, the rollout of the Recall feature has been delayed. Microsoft is making security and user experience improvements in the Windows 11 beta version, planning to reintroduce the Recall feature at a later date after these enhancements are completed.
However, due to the security and privacy concerns as well as potential user apprehensions, Microsoft has ultimately decided to make the Recall feature optional. Now, users can manually deselect or uninstall it from the list of optional features.
In this week's Windows 11 KB5041865 update for Copilot+PC, Microsoft added the option to uninstall the Recall feature. Users wishing to uninstall can press Win+R to open the Run command, then type in optionalfeatures
to access the list of optional features.
By default, the Recall feature is checked, meaning it is enabled. If users are concerned about security and privacy, they can uncheck it. After unchecking, the Recall feature will be uninstalled, alleviating users' potential privacy concerns.
Considering the privacy and security issues identified in previous versions, Microsoft allowed users to disable the Recall application. However, some users remained concerned that their data could still be collected even after disabling the feature. Now, supporting the uninstallation indeed resolves users' worries.
Additionally, Windows 11 Recall currently only supports Copilot+PC, so the Recall feature is not available on other devices and will not appear in the list of optional features on those devices, which is to be expected.