Only In The US For Now, But Expect It To Spread
Microsoft’s first attempt to inflict Recall and Copilot Vision upon us did not go well; apparently Redmond was shocked by people expressing concerns about their privacy created by an app that recorded their every move on their computers. Microsoft pulled them briefly to assuage their most vociferous opponents, but it was only a brief reprieve and they are back. While Recall stored everything you do locally, Copilot Vision sends all those recordings back to Microsoft so they can gain “a deeper understanding of your goals and the ability to provide clear, step-by-step guidance to help you accomplish them.” They of course also claim they don’t hold onto that data for long, nor do they use the data for targeted advertising. So far the EU doesn’t believe them and will not permit Microsoft to unleash it there until they can prove it complies with the GDPR.
Keep an eye out for new Copilot options on your machine and disable them if you don’t want your computer use to be captured. You can at least protect your browsing if you us the Brave browser. As of version 1.81, Brave will automatically block Recall and Copilot Vision from recording it’s window and your browsing will remain private. One hopes other browsers and programs will do the same.
In addition to recording everything you do, Microsoft is also adding “the operating system’s first “agentic” AI, which is now available to fiddle with system settings on your behalf.” This could be handy for the non-technically inclined as they can simply ask their computer to check for new Bluetooth devices instead of having to find that page in Settings. Microsoft also suggests a user could ask the computer to change their screen resolution to 1080p, but it’s hard to imagine someone unable to find Display Settings knowing what a resolution is let alone the proper one to ask for.
This could be a pain for the rest of us, as apparently this “AI” can change settings without your interaction or permission, and you may end up fighting it to keep your settings the way you want. Once this is inflicted on the general public, we should expect to see numerous guides on how to disable both Recall and Copilot Vision, which we will make sure to pass on.