Microsoft brings Recall feature to Europe

Windows 11 users with Copilot+ PCs get a different flavour of AI

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Microsoft is now also making the controversial Windows Recall feature available to European users of Windows 11 with a Copilot+ PC (a computer equipped with a powerful Neural Processing Unit of at least 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS).

Recall continuously takes screenshots of your computer screen, which are stored locally on the PC and analysed by AI. The result is a digital timeline that allows you to quickly find previously visited apps, documents, or websites using natural language search queries.

However, according to privacy experts, the feature poses a serious threat: sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and medical data can be captured without any filtering.

 
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Shortly after the original launch, Microsoft even withdrew the feature when it became clear that the system stored information unencrypted and that data could be accessed without an extra password. Since then, Microsoft has used encryption via BitLocker or TPM for local storage and made Recall an opt-in feature where users must explicitly consent to activation via Windows Hello.

The rollout is part of the release preview updates for Windows 11 (version 24H2), with broad availability for all supported Copilot+ PCs expected in August’s Patch Tuesday update.

European users can export their Recall snapshots to trusted third parties (apps or websites) using a unique and encrypted export code. This code is shown only once: if you lose it, you will need to reset Recall, which deletes all stored snapshots.

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Read More: Microsoft Windows