What you need to know
- Microsoft has announced a further delay for its controversial Windows Recall feature.
- Expected to be released in preview this month, the company now says to expect the first preview by December.
- The feature was originally supposed to launch alongside Copilot+ PCs in June.
After much song and dance about Windows Recall finally being ready for public testing, the company has today announced that the feature is being delayed again. In September, the company promised that the first Windows Recall preview builds would be made available in October, but now the company says to expect this to happen by December.
In a statement to The Verge, Microsoft said the following:
"We are committed to delivering a secure and trusted experience with Recall. To ensure we deliver on these important updates, we're taking additional time to refine the experience before previewing it with Windows Insiders. Originally planned for October, Recall will now be available for preview with Windows Insiders on Copilot Plus PCs by December." Why Microsoft left it until the very last minute in October to confirm this delay is anyone's guess.
It's unclear why the feature has been delayed again, but it's likely to do with ensuring the security improvements it has promised are ready. Cybersecurity researchers are waiting on standby to break Windows Recall's encryption as soon as the first preview build lands, and so Microsoft wants a little more time to ensure it's as secure as possible.
Windows Recall was originally supposed to launch alongside Copilot+ PCs on June 18, but was delayed after it was discovered that the feature was woefully insecure when it came to how the Recall service stored data locally on your device. It's now been four months since Recall was supposed to ship, and Microsoft is still struggling to get an initial preview out the door.
Since June, Microsoft has promised that when Windows Recall ships, it will be a secure experience. Data it collects will be encrypted, and the Recall app itself now requires Windows Hello authentication to be enabled before accessing any Recall data. Users can also choose to filter out certain apps and websites, and the feature will by default filter out sensitive info like passwords and national IDs.
With the first Recall preview builds now rolling out in the next couple of months, it's unlikely we'll see Recall begin shipping outside of the Insider Program until sometime in 2025. It's also unclear when AMD and Intel Copilot+ PCs will gain access to Windows Recall, as Microsoft had originally suggested the Recall preview would launch first on Snapdragon X devices in November. With the delay, will all Copilot+ platforms get Recall access at the same time?
