Microsoft Tries Again with Its Recall AI App

To try to convince customers of the value of Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft has built sample apps and experiences that require these devices. The company intended Recall to be the showcase app for this purpose. 

Recall is an app designed to help customers quickly find information stored on their PCs during previous work by taking constant snapshots of the user’s desktop. The concept: Need to find a document for a Teams call but can’t remember when you created it or stored it? Recall to the rescue. 

Microsoft introduced Recall in May 2024 at its Copilot+ PC launch. Because Microsoft wanted a launch-day surprise, the app had received little or no external testing. After privacy and security experts panned Recall, Microsoft temporarily halted plans to distribute it on the first wave of Arm-based Copilot+ PCs.  

Microsoft re-announced Recall alongside Windows 11 24H2. To try to appease critics, Microsoft officials said Recall will be off by default and able to be uninstalled permanently. Microsoft updated Recall so it leverages Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security to authorize Recall-related operations. Within Recall, the services that operate on screen shots and associated data or perform decryption operations reside within secure VBS (virtualization-based security) Enclaves.