Windows Recall has wiggled its way back to the headlines of practically every major tech news publication for all the wrong reasons. First announced in 2024 as an AI-powered tool designed to take snapshots of your PC's screen every few seconds and use on-device AI to analyze and triage that content, allowing you to semantically search for anything you've ever done on your computer using natural language.
Microsoft delayed its rollout for over one year to address critical user concerns after being branded a security nightmare and a hacker's paradise by cybersecurity experts. The company shipped the controversial feature to broad availability in April 2025 with elaborate security measures, including isolating it in a "VBS Enclave" (making it unreadable to third-party apps) and filtering out sensitive information like passwords and credit card details.
