Microsoft just delayed Recall again

Microsoft is once again delaying the roll out of its controversial Recall feature for Copilot Plus PCs. The software giant had planned to start testing Recall, which creates screenshots of mostly everything you see or do on a Copilot Plus PC, with Windows Insiders in October. Now, Microsoft says it needs more time to get the feature ready.

“We are committed to delivering a secure and trusted experience with Recall. To ensure we deliver on these important updates, we’re taking additional time to refine the experience before previewing it with Windows Insiders,” says Brandon LeBlanc, senior product manager of Windows, in a statement to The Verge.” Originally planned for October, Recall will now be available for preview with Windows Insiders on Copilot Plus PCs by December.”

Microsoft was forced to originally hold back Recall after security concerns were raised ahead of its planned debut with Copilot Plus PCs in June. After a delay to the launch, Recall was then supposed to appear for Windows Insiders just a matter of weeks later. Then Microsoft delayed Recall again to October, and now it’s December.

Microsoft’s multiple delays are related to it overhauling Recall’s security, making it an opt-in experience, and allowing Copilot Plus PC owners to fully uninstall it. Microsoft has spent the past few months focused on ensuring its Recall database is fully encrypted and that the only way to get access is to authenticate through Windows Hello.

Recall uses local AI models built into Windows 11 on Copilot Plus PCs to screenshot mostly everything you see or do on your computer and then give you the ability to search and retrieve things you’ve seen. An explorable timeline lets you scroll through these snapshots to look back on what you did on a particular day on your PC.

Earlier this week, Microsoft again clarified that Recall will not be mandatory on Copilot Plus PCs, and will be an opt-in experience that can be fully removed. The clarification came after various YouTube videos claimed Recall was being installed on any PC with Windows 11, version 24H2.

The good old fashioned fear, uncertainty, and doubt has spread far and wide, simply because of some references to Recall appearing in 24H2. Microsoft’s blunt removal of Recall over the summer appears to have led to some bugs in how the feature appears and is controlled in Windows 11.