The UK’s privacy watchdog is engaging with Microsoft over concerns about the company’s new feature that constantly captures screenshots on users’ devices.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) will be inquiring with Microsoft regarding the Recall feature, which is part of the tech giant’s new AI product line and was first reported by BBC News.
Recall is a component of Microsoft’s Copilot+ tool, a generative AI assistant. In a recent announcement, Microsoft explained that Recall enables users to ask Copilot to find previously viewed content on their device.
Recall operates by taking images of users’ screens every few seconds, providing a dataset that the AI assistant can refer back to.
The potential for continuous recording of user behavior has sparked concerns, with an ICO spokesperson stating that companies must “rigorously assess and mitigate risks to people’s rights and freedoms.”
The spokesperson added, “We are making enquiries with Microsoft to understand the safeguards in place to protect user privacy.”
Microsoft claimed to have implemented security features to ensure privacy protection. The feature can be customized to apply only to certain apps or websites, it does not capture images during private browsing on Microsoft Edge, it requires user opt-in, and the company insists the images are encrypted and stored only on the device itself.
Additionally, this week, Microsoft-backed AI firm OpenAI faced backlash after launching a voice for its latest version of ChatGPT that sounded eerily similar to actor Scarlett Johansson.
Johansson stated she had been approached several times to provide her voice for the project, referencing her role as an AI assistant in the 2013 Spike Jonze film “Her.”
