Microsoft Copilot+ Recall feature ‘privacy nightmare’

8 comments

1. Maybe, just maybe, the ICO will be useful for once and stop this dystopian nightmare.

   I’ve lost count of the number of “locally stored” IT things that have ended up in the cloud after a change in service terms – and something like this is the governments wet dream for surveillance.

2. If it’s optional, stored locally and encrypted, and you can select what applications use it then I don’t see a problem. It could prove quite useful.

   The danger then is someone gains full access to your computer, with security unlocked, and sees what you’ve done but that risk is kind of already there anyway.

   The main issue will be IT companies’ security policies. You’re in charge of your data but if you remote into a work computer it would in theory be taking screenshots of what could be private data. They would need to trust you to turn it off.

3. Your medical data has been sold

   Your ISP is tracking you

   A range of audio bugs all over Amazon

   Secret cameras in AirBnBs

   Agencies have free access to data from large companies

   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM

   SIM card encryption keys stolen

   Employees selling your data from foreign call centres

   CCTV can be accessed by many companies you use

   People track their kids, spouses

   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON

   The “Privacy nightmare” was about ten years ago, very few things online have been private since then. Might as well chuck another log on the fire at this point if it makes life easier.

4. As with practically every other *exciting* new Window 11 feature, I’ll disable it in some way.

5. Back when I noticed copilot was being pushed onto everyone’s desktops without their knowledge or any explicit consent process, I commented on it and was shouted down because “you can turn it off”, when the formal switch off only removes it from your desktop, not uninstall or remove it. Now it can take screenshots every few seconds it’s even worse. It’s direct monitoring of people’s personal computers which I think should be something the ICO should ban without explicit consent and a clear and easy to use path to remove it, not deactivate or hide it, remove it.

6. Naturally it will be part of the operating system and impossible to disable or remove.

7. A privacy nightmare for individuals and a wet dream for employers who issue laptops for people who work from home.

8. Quite nice to be reading this in Firefox running on Ubuntu.