Financial Services Association, May 27 (Editor Zhou Ziyi) In the competition for artificial intelligence products among technology companies, privacy issues are becoming a hot topic of discussion among users. At the press conference last week, Microsoft announced plans to launch a tool called Recall on its upcoming Copilot+ PC, but the tool received quite a few negative reviews soon after it was announced.

According to the introduction, the tool takes a screenshot of the customer's computer every few seconds, records all the user's actions in Windows by default, and does not review the content.

The purpose of Recall is for users to search and retrieve anything they've done on their device. The range of features includes recording what users have done in the app, tracking communication in real-time meetings, remembering all research websites users have visited, etc.

The company also claims that the content of these screenshots has a range of protections, and that the images are only stored locally on an encrypted drive.

A “privacy nightmare”

However, people's reactions to this new feature have been mostly negative. Some privacy activists have even claimed that it may be a “privacy nightmare.”

Dr. Kris Shrishak, an AI and privacy consultant, said, “This could be a privacy nightmare. The fact that screenshots are taken while using the device may have a chilling effect on people.”

Dr. Shrishak added, “When Microsoft takes screenshots every few seconds, people may avoid visiting certain websites and accessing files, especially confidential ones.”

Daniel Tozer, a data and privacy expert at Keystone Law, said, “When employers browse proprietary or confidential information on a screen, wouldn't these companies be deterred by Recall's recording capabilities? For users on video calls, the Recall feature is also a matter of controversy.”

Tozer said, “Microsoft needs a legal basis to record users' personal information... User and access control will certainly be a key concern for Microsoft.”

In response to these concerns, Microsoft explained that it “built privacy into Recall's design” from the beginning, and users had control over what was captured. For example, users can choose not to capture certain websites, and private browsing on Microsoft's own Edge browser can also be allowed not to be captured.

The company also stated that the intruder needed a password and physical access to the device to view any screenshots.

However, Jen Caltrider, head of Mozilla's privacy team, notes that these plans mean people who know your password can now access your history in more detail.

The UK's data regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), said it is in touch with Microsoft to obtain more information on the product's safety.

An ICO spokesperson said that before bringing any new product to market, the company must “strictly assess and mitigate risks to people's rights and freedoms,” and “we are investigating Microsoft to understand the safeguards to protect users' privacy.”