Microsoft delays the launch of Recall for Copilot+ PCs; there's no word on a new date

Microsoft is making yet another change to its controversial Recall feature for Windows. The company has updated its blog post today that it first published on June 7, revealing that Recall will not be a part of the launch of the Windows 11 Copilot+ PC laptops with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips on June 18.

Here is the full update from the blog post:

Today, we are communicating an additional update on the Recall (preview) feature for Copilot+ PCs. Recall will now shift from a preview experience broadly available for Copilot+ PCs on June 18, 2024, to a preview available first in the Windows Insider Program (WIP) in the coming weeks. Following receiving feedback on Recall from our Windows Insider Community, as we typically do, we plan to make Recall (preview) available for all Copilot+ PCs coming soon.

 

We are adjusting the release model for Recall to leverage the expertise of the Windows Insider community to ensure the experience meets our high standards for quality and security. This decision is rooted in our commitment to providing a trusted, secure and robust experience for all customers and to seek additional feedback prior to making the feature available to all Copilot+ PC users. Additionally, as we shared in our May 3 blog, security is our top priority at Microsoft, in line with our Secure Future Initiative (SFI). This is reflected in additional security protections we are providing for Recall content, including “just in time” decryption protected by Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS), so Recall snapshots will only be decrypted and accessible when the user authenticates. The development of Copilot+ PCs, Recall and Windows will continue to be guided by SFI.

 

When Recall (preview) becomes available in the Windows Insider Program, we will publish a blog post with details on how to get the preview. To try Recall (preview) WIP customers will need a Copilot+ PC due to our hardware requirements. We look forward to hearing Windows Insider feedback.

Microsoft first announced Recall alongside its Copilot+ PCs announcement with a lot of fanfare on May 20. The company stated Recall took "images of your active screen every few seconds" so that users could find anything they did on their PC using search.

However, many people sounded alarms that Recall could be a huge security risk, with some cybersecurity experts offering evidence that hackers could easily break into a PC with the feature enabled and then use it to take any info on your PC.

After several days of silence, Microsoft announced on June 7 it would make the Recall experience an opt-in feature and also require the use of Windows Hello authentication to actually access Recall. Tonight's outright delay in Recall's release shows Microsoft may not feel the feature is ready for even a "preview" experience for Copilot+ PC owners at this stage.

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