UK watchdog probes Microsoft AI screenshotting everything on your screen – even your private pictures
BRITAIN’S data watchdog is “making enquiries” with Microsoft over its new AI which takes screenshots of your computer activity.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) says it is contacting the tech giant for more information about Recall, its feature which stores encrypted screengrabs locally on the user’s PC.
Microsoft says the Recall ability, within the AI assistant, is an “optional experience” which is exclusive to its forthcoming Copilot+ PCs.
Recall can search through all users’ past activity including emails, browsing history, files and photos – something which many devices are currently capable of.
But it also takes screenshots every few seconds and searches these too.
It tracks every action performed on the laptop from voice chats to web browsing, and creates a detailed history stored on the device.
The user can then search this repository and go through past actions.
Some social media users have expressed fears that the feature could enable spying.
Billionaire technologist Elon Musk compared it to “Black Mirror,” the Netflix series that explores the harmful effects of advanced technology.
An ICO spokesperson told The Sun they were “making enquiries with Microsoft to understand the safeguards in place to protect user privacy”.
They continued: “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.”
One X user said Recall was an “unnecessary feature which will open up a whole privacy nightmare” for Microsoft.
And Mark Kern, a former Team Lead for the original World of Warcraft, wrote: “I’m tired of Microsoft watching everything we do.
“Windows Telemetry has always been there. Now it’s Copilot and Recall.
“I just don’t trust them.”
Dr Kris Shrishak, an adviser on AI and privacy, told the BBC: “This could be a privacy nightmare.
“The mere fact that screenshots will be taken during use of the device could have a chilling effect on people.”
Jen Caltrider, from Mozilla’s privacy team, said: “I wouldn’t want to use a computer running Recall to do anything I wouldn’t do in front of a busload of strangers.
“That means no more logging into financial accounts, looking up sensitive health information, asking embarrassing questions, or even looking up information about a domestic violence shelter, reproductive health clinic, or immigration lawyer.”
According to the Microsoft website, users can use Recall on Copilot+ PCs to “find the content you have viewed on your device”.
On Copilot+ PCs powered by a Snapdragon® X Series processor, users will see the Recall taskbar icon after first activating their device.
This icon can be used to open Recall’s settings and “make choices about what snapshots Recall collects and stores on your device”.
Microsoft says on its website: “You can limit which snapshots Recall collects; for example, you can select specific apps or websites visited in a supported browser to filter out of your snapshots.
“In addition, you can pause snapshots on demand from the Recall icon in the system tray, clear some or all snapshots that have been stored, or delete all the snapshots from your device.
“Recall also does not take snapshots of certain kinds of content, including InPrivate web browsing sessions in Microsoft Edge.
“It treats material protected with digital rights management (DRM) similarly; like other Windows apps such as the Snipping Tool, Recall will not store DRM content.
“Note that Recall does not perform content moderation.
“It will not hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers.
“That data may be in snapshots that are stored on your device, especially when sites do not follow standard internet protocols like cloaking password entry.”
The main concern with the feature is whether the data is stored on the device or centrally, International Data Corp analyst Ryan O’Leary said, adding that there would be “significant privacy risk” if Microsoft stored the data.
On the other hand, some experts say that managing more AI-related tasks directly on the device offers greater privacy.
Research from Forrester showed AI PCs could help avoid the use of personal data to train AI systems, as well as copyright and patent violations, making them preferable for enterprise use.