Microsoft is starting to gradually roll out a full release of Recall, its feature that captures screenshots of what you do on a Copilot Plus PC to find again later, to Windows Insiders in the Release Preview .

This new rollout indicates that Microsoft is finally getting close to launching Recall more widely, as Release Preview is the final hurdle before updates are rolled out more broadly to Windows 11.

Microsoft originally intended to launch Recall alongside Copilot Plus PCs last June, but the feature was delayed following concerns raised by security experts. The company then planned to launch it in October, but that got pushed as well so that the company could deliver “a secure and trusted experience.”

What IT Do

Recall boasts features such as capturing screenshots of what you do on a Copilot Plus PC to find again later. Recall records everything the user does and then puts it on a timeline so the user my more readily find websites, images etc. that have been accessed earlier.

How IT Do IT

1. The user has to opt in to saving snapshots, which are screenshots of your activity.
2. Snapshots and the contextual information derived from them are saved and encrypted to your local hard drive. 
3. Recall does not share snapshots or associated data with Microsoft or third parties, nor is it shared between different Windows users on the same device.
4. Windows will ask for your permission before saving snapshots.
5. The user is always in control, and can delete snapshots, pause or turn them off at any time.
6. Any future options for the user to share data will require fully informed explicit action by the user.
7. If you opt in to the feature, then as you use your PC, a snapshot of your active screen will be saved every few seconds and when the content of your active window changes.
8. Snapshots are also protected with Windows Hello, so that only the signed in user can access Recall content. 

The company released a preview of Recall in November to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel for Qualcomm Copilot Plus PCs and made a preview available to Intel- and AMD-powered Copilot Plus PC shortly after.

Microsoft asserts that you have to opt in to saving snapshots with Recall, and you can pause saving them “at any time.” Recall will also only be available on the Microsoft’s new range of Copilot Plus PCs.