Brave and AdGuard now block Microsoft Recall by default

The Brave web browser and the ad-blocker AdGuard have both announced that they are blocking Microsoft Recall by default. For the uninitiated, Recall is an AI-powered tool that accompanies Windows 11 and it records everything on a PC's screen. It's pretty obvious why a privacy-minded web browser like Brave and an ad-blocker would make this move.

AdGuard said the decision was made due to a "privacy concern," going on to say that "the very idea of background screen captures is unsettling." A blog post on the matter suggested that the tool could "snap a screenshot of a private chat window, an online form where you’re entering your credit card or simply something personal you didn’t want saved."

Brave also cited privacy concerns, suggesting that a user's "entire browsing history" could be captured by the tool. "We think it’s vital that your browsing activity on Brave does not accidentally end up in a persistent database, which is especially ripe for abuse in highly-privacy-sensitive cases," the company wrote in a blog post.

The chat app Signal made a similar move back in May, urging "AI teams building systems like Recall" to think "through these implications more carefully in the future." Brave says it was "partly inspired" by Signal.

AdGuard and Brave both offer toggles to bring Recall back into the mix. Microsoft's controversial tool lets people jump to whatever was previously on a screen. This includes web pages, images, documents, emails, chat threads or whatever else. It actually sounds like a pretty nifty productivity tool, despite the privacy concerns. It's available with some Copilot+ PCs.

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