Despite the default filter, Windows Insider’s Recall feature saves screenshots of sensitive data in many different cases.
The controversial Recall feature is back in Windows Insider. Adobe Stock / AOP
Microsoft’s Recall feature has slowly made its return to Windows Insider users’ devices. The feature was pulled back in June due to security and privacy concerns. Recall saves all user activity and the purpose of the feature is to enable the examination of device history.
Recall encrypts the screenshots it saves and the feature automatically has a setting that should filter out sensitive data. With the new regulation, Recall should not store, for example, any applications or websites where bank information, personal IDs or other sensitive information are entered. Tom’s Hardware in tests, however, the setting only worked in some situations.
When tests entered credit card numbers and random usernames and passwords into Windows’ Notepad application, Recall saved them regardless of the setting. Recall also saved screenshots of the PDF loan application opened in Microsoft Edge. A Tom’s Hardware reporter tested the feature with both made-up and real data, and the results were the same in both cases.
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Tom’s Hardware’s test also created its own HTML website, which clearly asked the user to enter a credit card number. The feature nevertheless saved an image with all the information visible.
However, the setting worked as expected when filling in payment information in two online stores. In both cases, the feature captured a screenshot either before or after filling in the information.
So hopefully the feature works in real online stores. However, the test shows that Microsoft’s artificial intelligence filter cannot identify every situation where sensitive information is visible. The situations were created to test the filter, but they correspond to real-world cases.
According to Microsoft, Recall’s filter is constantly being developed, which will make it even more reliable in the future. It remains to be seen how significant updates the feature will actually receive and how many gaps remain open.