Microsoft will start testing the controversial Recall feature in October 2024 after making changes to make it safer. However, now there is information about one of the most important changes - Recall can be completely removed from Windows 11. This was reported by the German publication Deskmodder.
According to the publication, in the optional update KB5041865 for Windows 11, the system now has the ability to completely remove an unwanted feature from the computer. Previously, during preliminary testing, the feature could only be disabled.
It's likely that this feature will be available only to users in the European Union, where technology companies, including Microsoft, are subject to much greater requirements. There, you can already uninstall Edge and other standard Windows 11 programs that cannot be uninstalled in other regions.
Removing Recall from Windows 11 may come in handy because after Microsoft first introduced the new feature in May, many users and security experts expressed concerns about how sensitive it was.
Initially, the new feature was supposed to be available to owners of Copilot+ computers in June, but the company announced that it was postponing the release for security reasons. Before that, the company had also made some changes to Recall, but they probably weren't enough.
The next testing will begin in October. The feature will be available to members of the Windows Insider program, and depending on how the testing goes, the company will decide whether to release the update to more users or whether it will take even more time to finalize it.