Microsoft’s new feature is taking screenshots of your PC every few seconds, an update likened to something out of a Black Mirror episode.
And even the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is concerned.
Microsoft’s latest AI-powered feature, dubbed Recall, works alongside CoPilot+ by ‘taking images of your active screen every few seconds’.
Creepy.
The point of the feature is in case you ever need to recall content you have viewed on your PC using search or a timeline, then Recall could allow you to open the snapshot in the original application on which it was created.
Using Microsoft’s AI, Copilot, the feature will scan through the text and visuals in each screenshot to make a searchable index of this activity for users.
Microsoft says these screenshots are encrypted and saved onto your PC’s hard drive and cannot be accessed by Microsoft or sifted out by a hacker. This means any hacker would need to gain physical access to your device, unlock it and sign in before getting to any saved screenshots.
It adds that Recall is optional and exclusive to Copilot+ PCs, but will not perform content moderation – meaning that it will not hide information or financial account numbers.
The screenshots are linked to specific user profiles on the device itself, but if you share a log-in with other members of your family or friends, then they will be able to access your history.
However, the ICO said it will be contacting Microsoft for more information on the safety of the product.
It said: ‘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.
‘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.’
What is Microsoft’s Copilot?
Copilot is a chatbot developed by Microsoft which allows you to search for specific information, generate text such as emails and create images based on text prompts.
It was first released in February last year, and can be accessed through an icon from the taskbar or launched through its new key. Copilot+ was launched earlier this month.
It is powered by OpenAI’s ChatCPT.
The new feature has caused an uproar by privacy campaigners, with Daniel Tozer, a data and privacy expert at Keystone Law, telling the BBC the system reminded him of the dystopian programme, Black Mirror.
He said: ‘Microsoft will need a lawful basis to record and re-display the user’s personal information.
‘There may well be information on the screen which is proprietary or confidential to the user’s employer – will the business be happy for Microsoft to be recording this?’
And regarding consent from people appearing on a video call or in a photo, he said: ‘Are they going to be given the choice as to whether to consent to that? User and access controls will be a key issue on which Microsoft will doubtless be focusing.’
Microsoft said that it has built-in privacy features, where users can opt out of capturing certain websites, and on private browsing.
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