I am not much of a privacy freak; I don't mind targeted ads and the idea of corporations selling our data (as long as there is proper transparency); however, my bones shivered hearing this new Windows feature coming to Copilot plus PCS - Windows Recall.
Every 3 seconds, it will take a screenshot that can be used to learn how you use your PC and help you find things you previously went to. That's the paraphrasing of how it sort of works. The biggest issue is the screenshotting every 3 seconds—wtf!
First, Windows is already horrible at indexing regular files to search for something, so now it's going to use machine learning to try and search for anything you previously went to.
So for clarification, there is a blacklist of applications, and websites that you can configure, but what if a Windows update overrides it, or what if MOST Windows users aren't aware of it or don't configure anything! That's a huge privacy concern because if someone gains access to your PC, it makes their life so much easier; they don't even need your passwords anymore.
So...am I going to tell you to switch to Linux...no
The reason is that everyone uses their computer differently; as someone whose first application he opens up is a Terminal, Windows is already disgusting for me, and once I'm done school, it is dead to me; I already drive my desktop daily POP_OS!. However, it took me a while to become proficient in Linux's quirks, and not everyone's workflows will be able to perfectly translate to Linux.
My recommendation is to become aware of this new feature, be aware of these new "copilot plus" PCs being marketed, and if you want to switch, be ready to be open-minded and patient.
Top comments (2)
so according to you: privacy freak is someone who is scared of targeted ads, corpos selling your data. And "normal" are those who just dont care? well i see who is real "freak" here
Ummm did I say normal is people who don't care? Or did I say I don't care? I'm not the definition of "normal", privacy comfortability is a per person level. What I see as a privacy freak is obviously going to be different than others, the main point brought is the concerning issue this Microsoft recall feature brings, thanks for making me clarify something I didn't really need to