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Windows Recall is secretly installed and enabled on non-Copilot+PCs (Privacy Nightmare)
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this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2024
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Interesting way to put it. The first thing it made me think is that if they did the 2nd part entirely within your PC, would it be ok privacy-wise, and would the consumers be ok with it?
I haven't looked into the current iterations options, but I think I still want the option to turn it off. Personally I'm less concerned with privacy and more concerned with it using up my computers resources.
Even if all the processing remained on my devices, I still wouldn't want or trust it. Microsoft could change that policy at any time, claim something like my logging in to my local account constituted agreeing to their new terms, and expose screenshots of my password manager in an unsecured public data store.
Fuck Windows Recall, and fuck Microsoft generally for being so fucking awful to their customers but mainly fuck them for forcing me to finally make good on my threat to switch to Linux. I've been using Windows for over thirty years and switching off their spyware for ten, but this is the final straw.
I ditched Microsoft on my new build back in Feb. I installed Mint and it's been a really smooth transition for me. I can still do everything I used to, although I know there are some use cases where it's a problem for people. All the games I've tried run well.
But it does give me peace of mind that someone isn't going to change my settings in a way that benefits them in a patch. I feel like I'm working with my OS to get things done instead of wrestling against what some corporate MBA wants.
No joke, that's the distro I'm going with 🙌 Mint is great!
Mint is the distro of choice for people who want to work on their computer, not work on their computer.
Like I'm glad for all the nerds who change distros as often as they change pairs of pants and enjoy fiddle-fucking around with their setup, but some of us only want a computer that just works and doesn't give us shit.
It's funny you say that, because in my experience what you're describing is Arch. Mint, meanwhile, was the first time I'd used Linux and had it "just work". What distro are you using that you don't have to "fiddle-fuck around" with it at all?
Always has been.
No, there’s a bigger context that you’re not considering: enterprise IT orgs in privacy-sensitive/confidential domains.
This whole feature is an absolute non-starter in biotech, defense, finance, and a bunch of other industries. It’s an infosec nightmare. Legal teams will categorically refuse to allow W11 to be installed simply due to the legal jeopardy it would put their own orgs in, since it implicitly trusts MS with who the fuck knows how much data exactly.
I continue to be shocked and baffled that MS isn’t taking their stance on this product as an “always-on” thing back to the drawing board.
I consult in some companies that don’t even allow copy/paste in outlook. Like, these are actually MS security policies that can be set.
How in all of the actual fucks could they allow MS to see everything on your screen.
I agree with your non starter assessment.
Yeah I work for a major company in healthcare and they don't allow Windows 11 for several reasons.
But also outside of the healthcare data issue, there's the legal issue of retaining data. Our company doesn't allow us to retain emails for more than 2 years and there are lots of other retention policies, and software to enforce them, that don't require keeping data, but instead require deleting it. This is a common trend in major corporations right now. You can't have data hacked or subpoenaed in a court case if it doesn't exist. Recall is great for micromanagement of employees, but bad for just about all other parts of a company. I don't get who is behind this and who they think they're appeasing with it.
Don't they already have a non copilot version of Windows 11? I believe the OPM is already using it.
Nah. Even if it's local, I'll burn my CPU cycles on what I want to, thanks. That's like installing a bitcoin miner in your PC and claiming, "But it only runs in the background." Fuck off and buy your own hardware, Microsoft.
Even if the storage were strictly local, there would still be some privacy concerns. Hackers can't steal data that isn't there.
At that point, you're just paying for training Microsoft's AI.