Sick of Windows 11's Recall feature? OpenRecall may be a "safer" alternative
OpenRecall is even available on macOS & Linux
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Key notes
- Microsoft’s Recall faces backlash over security concerns and data privacy issues.
- OpenRecall, an open-source alternative on GitHub, runs locally and offers safer data management.
- It actually lacks visual appeal but still effectively captures on-PC history just fine, like Recall.
Microsoft’s launch of the Recall feature has turned into a horrible debacle. Reported security exploits, on top of Microsoft’s not-so-good track record at alleged abuse of data collection, may have made folks lose their trust in the feature. Luckily, there’s a new alternative you can try called OpenRecall, and it’s available on GitHub.
OpenRecall, available on Windows, macOS, and Linux even, is said to be a “safer” alternative. It’s an open-source program that runs internally within your device, and you wouldn’t need to have the Copilot+ certified hardware that, let’s be real, has quite a demanding minimum requirement.
We tried it ourselves, and it worked. We were able to retrieve some of the screenshots, use the sliders, and even search for them. But, unlike the Recall feature which has its own app with a slider and a search box, you can only access OpenRecall through a browser app and then open to http://localhost:8082.
It may not be the most visually appealing, since it’s hosted locally in a browser, but it sure does the job. The third-party creator claims, “OpenRecall captures your digital history through regularly taken snapshots, which are essentially screenshots.”
The premise of Recall, previously known as “AI Explorer,” is revolutionary, as it goes way deeper beyond just a simple document-searching process. But then, it became a horrible show when security analysts started finding loopholes that hackers could exploit.
Microsoft then defends the feature. The Redmond tech giant said that the Recall feature does not always keep snapshots of your screen automatically. You still have control over what’s saved, and it’s possible to disable, pause temporarily, filter apps, or even delete them at any time.
But even then, concerns would still be understandable, and until Microsoft patches this issue, we can see the pessimism around Recall will continue to echo for a long, long time.
Ouch.
