Copilot+ PC and Recall: Microsoft tries 'infinite PC memory', privacy backlash erupts
In one sentence Microsoft announces Copilot+ PCs with 40+ TOPS NPU and the Recall feature: screenshots every few seconds, indexed on-device. Immediate privacy/security criticism, launch delayed.
At Build 2024 Microsoft announces a new laptop category: Copilot+ PCs, with Qualcomm Snapdragon X chips (and later Intel/AMD), all sporting an NPU — a small AI brain inside the PC. The idea: run AI models on the laptop, fast and offline.
The most-discussed feature is Recall: the PC takes a screenshot of everything you see every few seconds and indexes it in a local database. So you can search "that recipe I read Tuesday" in natural language and get the screenshot back.
It sounds useful until a security researcher shows the database is unencrypted and any malware can steal it. A massive PR incident follows. Microsoft delays Recall by months, redesigns it with encryption, opt-in, mandatory Windows Hello, and relaunches it much more cautiously in 2025.
Lesson: even a giant can mess up the "AI cool features vs privacy by design" balance.
Companies
Microsoft, Qualcomm
Tools
Copilot+ PC, Recall, Snapdragon X Elite
Tags
Sources