Microsoft Confirms Its Screenshot-Taking AI Feature Is Optional & Can Be Uninstalled

When Microsoft introduced its AI Recall feature, which constantly takes screenshots of everything you do, people were understandably disturbed. Months after, the company keeps trying to reassure them it totally won't be spying on them.

Recall, which will also reportedly be able to access your videos and audio files, is said to be opt-in. Interestingly, at the beginning of September, one user noticed that one of the Windows 11 builds allowed to uninstall it from the system. However, Microsoft said that it was a bug that would fixed soon. But by the end of September, Microsoft released a post claiming users will be able to remove Recall entirely.

Those mixed signals, along with IT manager and YouTuber Chris Titus's video saying that Recall was mandatory in the OS's latest update, made The Verge contact Microsoft.

"Recall is getting installed on every single system in 24H2," Titus said. "More so... it is a dependency in File Explorer. That should alarm a lot of people."

However, Microsoft stayed firm on its earlier statements, claiming Recall was still opt-in and removable.

After its summer security fiasco, Recall's release to Windows Insiders was moved to October, so we might hear more about the technology soon.

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