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194

Recall: Microsoft re-launches ‘privacy nightmare’ AI screenshot tool (www.bbc.com)

submitted 1 month ago by tardigrada@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org

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Microsoft says it has “listened to feedback” following a privacy row over a new tool which takes regular screenshots of users’ activity.

It was labelled a potential “privacy nightmare” by critics when it was unveiled in May 2024 - prompting the tech giant to postpone its release. It now plans to relaunch the artificial intelligence (AI) powered tool in November on its new CoPilot+ computers.

[...]

When it initially announced the tool at its developer conference in May, Microsoft said it used AI "to make it possible to access virtually anything you have ever seen on your PC", and likened it to having photographic memory. It said Recall could search through a users' past activity, including their files, photos, emails and browsing history.

[...]

But critics quickly raised concerns, given the quantity of sensitive data the system would harvest, with one expert labelling it a potential “privacy nightmare."

[...]

[Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft's corporate vice president of Windows and devices says] that "Windows offers tools to help you control your privacy and customise what gets saved for you to find later".

However a technical blog about it states that “diagnostic data” from the tool may be shared with the firm depending on individual privacy settings.

[Microsoft says in a blog post that users can remove Recall entirely by using the optional features settings in Windows.]

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[–] Butterbee@beehaw.org 40 points 1 month ago (70 children)

What the heck am I going to do when win10 stops getting security patches? I really wish Valve would open up SteamOS to desktops in a public and supported way. That kind of pressure from valve has forced MS to play nice to users in the past. Anyone remember MS demanding that all software for Win8 be sold through the MS store only? And Valve said, fine we'll make our own OS, with blackjack! And Hookers! And steam machines became a thing. Noone bought them. But it didn't matter. It was enough pressure for MS to open up to having 3rd party storefronts again. I feel like we need this again. Also, if linux played nice with anti cheat, and discord I would probably be fine ditching windows but as it stands I'd miss out on playing games with my friends.

Anyway. Privacy Nightmare AI tool bad.

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Besides what other users said: if you feel comfortable with SteamOS you might want to give EndeavourOS and Manjaro a check - all three distros are based on Arch Linux, and while Arch is geared towards experienced users the later two try to "sell" it towards a wider audience.

[–] IrritableOcelot@beehaw.org 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh my god if you are a new user please do not go straight to Arch or Manjaro. By far the two distros most likely to breaky irreparably.

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm not suggesting Arch, but Arch-based distros. Manjaro doesn't break anywhere as often as Arch does.

...or alternatively go with Mint and re-learn how to handle the packages. pacman vs. APT is not a big deal anyway.

[–] nutcase2690@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

I just saw this in a post today about manjaro, it seems like endeavor is the better choice if you are concerned about stability in the long term: https://manjarno.pages.dev/

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