Windows’ AI-powered Recall, Microsoft’s most controversial announcement of 2024 (so far), is getting put on hold.
In a blog update on the Windows website, Microsoft confirmed that the Recall feature has been delayed. Originally planned to roll out to the newest batch of Windows laptops with Snapdragon X Elite chipsets on June 18 — including the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 — it will now only roll out to the Windows Insider program “in the coming weeks.” If all goes well during the preview stages, it will then become widely available at some point in the future.
‘Recall’ receives lukewarm response
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Recall, which Microsoft originally positioned as some useful productivity feature due to its ability to build a database of every action you’ve ever taken on your PC through constant surveillance. However, privacy experts immediately flagged it as a massive security problem.
Microsoft tried to lessen the mess a bit by making Recall opt-in (bafflingly, it originally wasn’t), but this delay makes it clear that more feedback and time is needed before Recall is ready for primetime.
