Microsoft’s Recall feature is available for testing by users of Copilot+ PCs containing Qualcomm Snapdragon chips.
Jordan Novett | CNBC
Microsoft on friday Start letting people test Recall, it is so called Photo memory search function for the latest Copilot+ PC. Based on initial assessments, it doesn’t work perfectly.
This was also a long time ago. Microsoft first promoted Recall as a prominent feature in May, which was only available on cutting-edge Copilot+ PCs running the Windows 11 operating system, such as the latest Surface Pro. Executives say Recall will use artificial intelligence to take screenshots of your computer screen as you use it, so you can later use keywords to search for words or objects that appear in images you’ve seen before.
However, backlash from cybersecurity experts over Recall’s potential risks led Microsoft to improve it. The company encrypts Recall’s underlying database and sets the feature to off by default. In August, Microsoft said Recall would reach testers in October.
This feature is now available to some Copilot+ users. Those computers contain Qualcomm Snapdragon chips and neural processing units used for AI tasks can download and install the version that comes with Recall. PCs must be registered in the Windows Insider Program’s Dev Channel to be eligible. Co-pilot + PC AMD or Intel Chips are currently out of luck.
Microsoft releases pre-release software like this to let early adopters try it so it can iron out flaws before releasing it to the public. Recall does not work with certain accessibility programs, and if you specify that Recall should not store content for a given website, the content may be captured when using the built-in Edge browser. blog post.
These aren’t the only problems. Here are some more issues I noticed:
- While you might expect your computer to record the last thing you saw when you turn on Recall, it can take several minutes between snapshots, leaving gaps in your timeline.
- Recall allows you to prevent screenshots from being taken when accessing a specific application. But some apps installed on my Surface Pro don’t show up in that list.
- When you enter a search string to find a word, the results may be incomplete or incorrect. Recall that there are apparently two screen images mentioning “Yankees,” but when I typed the image into the search box, only one of them came up as a text match. I entered my last name, which appeared in eight images, but Recall only produced two text matches.
- Recall took a screenshot while browsing a post on the social network BlueSky, which included a photo of a New York street scene. You can see traffic lights, chimneys and street signs. I typed this into the search box, but Recall didn’t find any results. Even after trying slightly different terms like “light” or “sign”, Recall still failed to show me what I was looking for. However, Recall does show the screenshot when I type “one way”.
- The search function is fast, but flipping through snapshots in Recall is not. When you swipe between screenshots, it may take a few seconds for the screenshots to load.
Microsoft did not immediately comment for this article.
Despite its early issues, Recall can be helpful and fun when it does produce positive results. When you want to return to the app or web link you were viewing when you took the screenshot, clicking the button below the image will instantly take you back to that moment.
watch: Microsoft will release controversial Windows Recall AI search feature to testers in October