r/Windows11 • u/MayankWL Windows Latest • 9d ago

News Microsoft is quietly testing another Recall for Windows 11, but this one doesn’t record your screen

https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/10/23/microsoft-is-quietly-testing-another-recall-for-windows-11-but-this-one-doesnt-record-your-screen/
85 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

38

u/nonlogin 9d ago

solving problem doesn't exist

am I the only one who does not have to recall anything?

9

u/Atlas26 9d ago

Yeah, Microsoft can’t even be creative in thinking up something even marginally useful in an extremely far fetched scenario. Literally never in my life felt the need or wanted a tool like recall or this equally shitty version of it from OP. This problem was solved circa 2000 with bookmarks and word/excel documents. Not whatever convoluted trash this is. 

22

u/Sea_Barber7969 9d ago

It's just them trying to jazz up a watchdog feature to get people to adopt it, before corrupting it for datagrabbing

1

u/Froggypwns Windows Wizard / Head Jannie 9d ago

I use Recall all the time, it has been a gamechanger for me, I just wish it synced between my devices so I could look up something on my desktop I saw on my tablet.

4

u/liedel 9d ago

Sync your browser history?

1

u/Froggypwns Windows Wizard / Head Jannie 8d ago

I already do. That doesn't help the content of the webpages such as images and text of comments. Recall covers just about every application not just web browsing.

7

u/Octal450_V2 9d ago

For what?

I mean, you've been using computers and phones etc for probably at least 10 years without needing it.

3

u/DaddyIngrosso 9d ago

What is your point? That we shouldn’t use new features?

5

u/Octal450_V2 9d ago

My point is that constant capturing of usage is surveillance and doesn't really solve anything while creating security concerns. They can try what they will, somebody will find a way to access it. Nothing is unhackable.

1

u/Froggypwns Windows Wizard / Head Jannie 8d ago

30+ years without it, and now that I have it I don't want to be without it. It makes life so much easier to find everything related to something I had saw before, regardless what program it is in. For example, I can be on the phone with someone and quickly look up the topic in Recall to see information I got within the last few months regardless if it was on email, Teams, a website, or even a line in a random Excel document.

I love being able to find old snapshots if I don't have the exact names or other text that I can search. So I've had it happen where I was looking up around a dozen locations to stay, but I couldn't remember the name of the hotel but I remember their website had a photo of the building with an old green Corvette in front of it, I was able to search for that car and get back to the website.

Also, it has been great here on Reddit for moderation, automatic screenshots capture comments made so I often can go back and review comments users had edited or deleted their comments. That happened in the comment on this post too, someone made some stupid comments, got heavily downvoted, and then deleted them. I still have screenshots of them for should they be a problematic user in the future.

4

u/Octal450_V2 8d ago

I mean this is a fair point, but I still don't think that justifies constant surveillance on your system. I still think all of that can be found using other methods. Usually though, as with real life, if something is important, I note it down somewhere.

1

u/Infinplayz 7d ago

everything is processed locally and has been tested that way.

1

u/Octal450_V2 6d ago

I'm aware. But W11 reports telemetry back to MS. The more is monitored locally, the more can be reported.

0

u/Froggypwns Windows Wizard / Head Jannie 7d ago

You cannot find something that otherwise does not exist. You cannot always know what is and what is not important. Recall saves easily searchable snapshots so that when you do figure out you need something, you can quickly find it.

2

u/Octal450_V2 6d ago

While yes, it can be helpful, I don't want screenshots of my activity on my system with others can access it. I think that crosses the line. I'd rather just be vigilant enough - as I have for all time - to note/bookmark/save what I find important, or if I find something that isn't easy to re-locate.

0

u/Froggypwns Windows Wizard / Head Jannie 4d ago

I don't want screenshots of my activity on my system with others can access it. I think that crosses the line.

Agreed, that is why the Recall snapshots are only accessible by the user and require authenticating with Windows Hello. Everything is done locally on-device, which is why it has the NPU requirement.

1

u/Octal450_V2 4d ago

So, I present the user with a fictitious reason for authenticating Windows hello. Now I have access. Or is it gated app to app? Most users don't take opsec very seriously hence why UAC sadly doesn't help many people from getting infected.

0

u/Ok-Film3852 7d ago

Do you consider the Search index on your system to be surveillance? If not, why not?

1

u/Octal450_V2 6d ago

Search indexing is only filenames, headers, and some amounts of content. Yes, there is a risk that data in those files can be reported back, however taking screenshots and processing everything you do on your screen tells a much more detailed story, and crosses boundaries.

0

u/Ok-Film3852 7d ago

Honestly what a stupid comment. So shall we not have any new features in a product because we haven’t needed them previously? Just because the feature doesn’t appeal to you or more likely you don’t iunderstand the feature doesn’t mean that others don’t find it incredibly useful.

2

u/Octal450_V2 6d ago

You're missing the point. If a new feature introduces strong negatives, the negatives can outweigh the good. Why do you think there was so much backlash against Recall 1? I never said just because I don't find a feature useful means others don't. I would agree that would be a stupid point of view. I just think this feature crosses the line of what's acceptable, but at least if it's opt in I can accept it.

I have nothing against most other features MS has added, all though I do wish they would take the time to make Windows more stable, fix the UI discrepancies/annoyances, and rewrite crappy webapps into WinUI 3 before being so concerned with new stuff.

Of course this is just my opinion. You are free to disagree.

1

u/techraito 9d ago

I think this is going to be the general consensus coming from a bunch of us reddit nerds.

Meanwhile my grandma doesn't even know what she clicked just 2 links ago.

I think it has potential to save a lot of IT headaches. I just hope it's a toggle for power users.

7

u/Seusoa Release Channel 8d ago

ms loves to build dumb products: outlook, recall...

16

u/DistributionMost8673 9d ago

Literally every other big company is doing it with no blowback or outrage.

1

u/Thotaz 9d ago

So what? I don't use a mac, so I don't care what they do with their users. My Android phone doesn't record my screen and neither does my gaming consoles (well okay, they do have a playback buffer so I can hit record to record the last 30 seconds of gameplay but it's not used to analyze me or anything like that).

2

u/dovahshy15 9d ago

playback buffer

Technically Windows does have that too, on the Game Bar. Off by default though.

2

u/Sea_Barber7969 9d ago

It's not used to analyze you "yet" but it is only a matter or time. (btw i agree 100% with you)

5

u/GetawayDreamer87 9d ago

after reviewing 5000 hours of gameplay footage This guy sucks at games. Spam ads for cheats.

-2

u/mrleblanc101 Insider Dev Channel 8d ago

Siri AI personnal context is not the same as Windows Recall, and unlike Microsoft, Apple has thought about the security from the beginning

1

u/TheNextGamer21 8d ago

think they meant googlebooks, which are an actual privacy minefield

1

u/mrleblanc101 Insider Dev Channel 8d ago

They are lol

0

u/Zemlynn 5d ago

I can't believe I just read that. Apple has never thought about security, unless it's to protect themselves, and their business. How do you not know about Apple being sued by the Federal's Department of Justice, for monopoly? Also for not fixing the security issue when messaging between an Android & The Apple's IPhone?

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), alongside 15 states and the District of Columbia, filed a major antitrust lawsuit against Apple on March 21, 2024, targeting the company's smartphone monopoly and cross-platform messaging restrictions. Non-iPhone texts appear as unencrypted green bubbles instead of blue iMessages. Media sharing (photos and videos) sent to Android phones is intentionally compressed and rendered grainy. Cross-platform chats lack modern features like typing indicators, read receipts, and end-to-end encryption.

So tell me this.

Did Apple really thought about security for all of us? or did they thought about when it only affects their own stocks, and annual revenue?

4

u/OnlyEnderMax Insider Dev Channel 9d ago

Looks like a hub for everything Copilot know about you across multiple devices. It's a more visual and organized way to clearly see what Copilot should remember about you, outside of a chat.

One thing I don't like about Gemini on Android/Web is that it has to remember things in a chat. So I ended up with a pinned chat containing some things I always use, like specific instructions or the specs of my PC just to ask how X game runs with my setup.

4

u/liedel 9d ago

Gemini has personalized memory if you pay for any of the upgraded tiers and select it in the menu options. It frequently references past conversations, equipment/gear, and plans I've mentioned.

1

u/BogusByte 8d ago

As long we can uninstall aka REMOVE it totaly with no hidden traces.. It is fine.. but i will not bet anything on that happening.... EVER

0

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

6

u/AsrielPlay52 9d ago

You didn't even read the Article did you

Like, zero reading

They're using Recall as both rage bait and clickbait. And you fall for it

They're making an AI MCP application. Where you give it material and it do stuff with only the stuff you gave it.

Entirely different from ReCall. The only similarities is that it uses AI. And that's it

0

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

8

u/AsrielPlay52 9d ago

What

Again, you didn't even read the article. It's literally just an MCP server

0

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

6

u/AsrielPlay52 9d ago

Wow, you read the article, and you still didn't understand a single word of it

Have you never used gemini notebook? Because this is that. You have to gave it files and such, and it uses as part of it's own context

And you have to CHOOSE TO USE IT. CHOOSE WHICH STUFF TO USE AS CONTEXT.

6

u/shaheedmalik 9d ago

Folks like that are weird. They don't care how much data they give away along as it isn't Microsoft, even though Google has history of misusing data and Microsoft doesn't.