"Microsoft is not secretly installing Recall on your Windows PC."
Microsoft has announced that the Recall feature will be optional and can be uninstalled.
The Recall feature from Microsoft, designed to capture images of everything seen or done on a computer with Copilot Plus, has been surrounded by controversy since its announcement earlier this year. After security researchers discovered that a preliminary version of the Recall database lacked encryption, the company decided to postpone the feature and conduct a security-focused review. Although Recall is not yet available for testing on PCs with Copilot Plus, a climate of fear, uncertainty, and doubt has emerged regarding the possible secret installation of this feature in the latest version of Windows 11.
Chris Titus, an IT manager and YouTuber, was the first to notice that the most recent update to Windows 11, version 24H2, contained references to Recall, which could give the impression that it is activated in the operating system. Titus claimed in a video that "Recall is being installed on every system in 24H2" and that "in addition, it is a dependency in File Explorer," which should worry many people.
In response, a wave of investigation emerged. Microsoft has maintained that Recall will be an option for users when it is relaunched and that it can be completely uninstalled. Thus, the question arises as to why a feature like Recall would seem to be enabled in the installations of 24H2.
Since the summer security incident, insider and production versions have not included Recall at all, according to Albacore, a Windows observer. Albacore, the creator of the Amperage tool that allowed Recall to be executed on older chips, states that the references found in current installations of 24H2 are related to facilitating system administrators in disabling or removing Recall. Ironically, Albacore points out that Microsoft has made an effort to simplify the removal of Recall, but this change has been misinterpreted and has led to speculation about espionage and artificial intelligence issues.
Microsoft's abrupt removal of Recall over the summer appears to have caused certain errors in how this feature is displayed and controlled. Users of Titus's Windows utility have reported crashes in File Explorer if Recall is disabled in new installations of Windows 11, version 24H2. In September, an option to uninstall Recall also appeared, which Microsoft classified as a bug before confirming that Windows users could indeed uninstall Recall.
In response to the confusion generated, Albacore explains that Microsoft has a very complex system for integrating development changes into main versions, which may have caused malfunctions in Recall under certain circumstances. When asked about the references to Recall in 24H2, Microsoft reiterated that Recall will be an optional experience and can be removed. Brandon LeBlanc, senior product manager of Windows, added that the Recall preview for PCs with Copilot Plus has not yet been enabled for insider users.
Concerns about the secret installation of Recall in Windows 11 have proliferated on YouTube, where many videos offer ways to "remove" a feature that is not even present in version 24H2. Albacore clarifies that Recall is implemented through the AIX user experience package, and in the current versions, this package is simply a stub. Microsoft is now expected to release Recall for insider users, something it promises to do in October, so that security researchers can test the latest changes and see how the opt-in process and uninstallation work. With October nearing its end, there is little time left if the deadline is to be met.
