Microsoft being investigated over new ‘Recall’ AI feature that tracks your every PC move

Microsoft’s new AI-powered computer history feature, Recall, has been receiving criticism among PC users for being very Black Mirror-like.

However, it’s not just critics who are coming after Microsoft over Recall. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is now investigating the company’s new AI feature, too.

The ICO is an independent public authority that reports to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It’s tasked, among other things, with promoting and upholding data privacy rights for individuals

“We expect organisations to be transparent with users about how their data is being used and only process personal data to the extent that it is necessary to achieve a specific purpose,” the ICO wrote in a statement published on Wednesday via its website. “Industry must consider data protection from the outset and rigorously assess and mitigate risks to peoples’ rights and freedoms before bringing products to market.”

“We are making enquiries with Microsoft to understand the safeguards in place to protect user privacy,” the ICO statement concluded.

Why is Recall causing concern?

Everyone is very familiar with web browser history, an archive showing users which websites they visited by date and time. All of the most popular web browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari have this feature.

Microsoft is taking that general idea and applying it to a new concept. Recall provides a history of activity on a users’ entire computer powered by AI.

According to Microsoft, Recall will consistently take screenshots of users’ activity on their PC in the background while they go about their regular day on their computer. Using AI, the feature will scan through the text and visuals seen in each screen capture and make a searchable index of this activity for users. If a user is trying to retrieve something they did on their computer earlier in their history, Recall can pull it up, thanks to the searchable archive created by the AI-scanned screenshots.

While these screenshots will be stored locally on users’ own computer, Microsoft has since shared that sensitive data, including passwords, addresses, and health information, won’t be removed — and will be visible to anyone who has access to the files on the device. Cybersecurity experts have shared concerns about what bad actors, such as hackers, could do with this information. Furthermore, because this feature works in the background around-the-clock, users may be unaware of which data, exactly, is being stored.

It will be interesting to see how reactions from users and security professionals, as well as inquiries from government officials, affects Microsoft’s Recall going forward.