Microsoft's New Feature Under Investigation in UK

TapTechNews May 23rd news, according to BBC reports, the UK regulatory agency said it is investigating a new feature of Microsoft. It is known that this behavior stems from the upcoming Windows 11 Recall new tool, which is a unique new feature of Copilot+PC and captures the screen of the laptop every few seconds.

TapTechNews has also reported on this function. This new Windows 11 Recall tool was officially announced at Microsoft's Build 2024 Developer Preview Conference and is also internally known as AIExplorer, which can record all the things that users see and do on the device and provides users with post-event search and retrieval functions, presenting them in the form of time snapshots. The Apple Mac camp also has a similar third-party software Rewind, which is suitable for M-series Macs. Windows 11 Recall is also limited to be used only with Copilot+PC.

Microsoft officially released a statement saying that the relevant data generated by the Recall tool is only stored locally, and Microsoft or any person without device access rights cannot access it. Even potential hackers need to obtain physical access to the device, unlock and log in, and then be able to access the saved time snapshot data. Users can control the privacy options of this tool, adjust and delete the time range, delete a certain snapshot at any time, or pause directly through the icon in the system tray on the taskbar; they can also limit the content of the screenshots of the Recall tool and filter out certain applications and websites.

Even so, a spokesperson for the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) also said that companies must rigorously assess and reduce the risks to people's rights and freedoms before launching new technology products. At present, relevant AI consultants or privacy experts have also expressed their own concerns. Dr. Chris Shrishak, an AI and privacy consultant, said This could be a privacy nightmare.

Microsoft Build 2024 Developer Conference Feature