When Microsoft introduced the Copilot+ PC last Monday, Recall has become the most talked about feature of all those announced by those from Redmond.. We already said it when we reported on it back then, and later, in addition to diving into its operation, colleague Tomás interestingly thought about where we think about drawing the line between privacy, security and functionality. This is undoubtedly a debate that needs to gain momentum now more than ever as artificial intelligence becomes more and more ingrained in our lives.

Satya Nadella likened Recall to a photographic memory, as the feature takes a sort of “snapshot” of the state of the computer and the tasks being performed on it. This information is analyzed and indexed and in this way subsequently enables the search of our previous activity. If we stick exclusively to its functionality, It is impossible not to remember your entire historythe third episode of the first season of Black Mirror.

As could be expected, the first reactions were immediate and less than 24 hours after his presentation we could already find him More caller voices Recall the privacy nightmare and the perfect spyware, exactly as we tell you here. And yes, it’s true that Microsoft actively and passively states that all Recall information remains under the control of the user and only the user at all times (it’s stored and processed locally and encrypted with BitLocker), but even so, the risks are more than worrisome.

These concerns have not gone unnoticed by regulators, and as we read in ReadWrite, The UK has already launched a Recall investigationan action that aims to evaluate the level of transparency that the operation and assets held by this feature, as well as a truly rigorous risk assessment that guarantees users that their data has an adequate level of protection.

An investigation was launched by the Information Commissioner’s Office (Office of the Information Commissioner), which sees with particular concern something we’ve already mentioned in reports of concerns raised about Rercall, which is that the feature doesn’t use any type of filter to not store certain types of information. , such as passwords, bank details, health data, etc. As stated, the ICO hopes that Microsoft will “be transparent with users about how their data is used and process personal data only to the extent necessary to achieve a specific purpose. Industry must consider data protection from the outset and rigorously assess and mitigate risks to people’s rights and freedoms before bringing products to market.“.

The problem is that with a feature like this, what does the app do “process personal data only to the extent necessary to achieve a specific purpose«. The answer to this requirement is undoubtedly very complex, so much so that the discussion will surely focus on this point, which is actually the one I mentioned earlier when I talked about finding a balance.