A new AI tool called Recall which Microsoft recently unveiled for Copilot+ PCs faced a major security and privacy backlash. Intended to make users’ lives easier by capturing and storing screenshots of their desktop activity, it takes screen captures of a Windows machine every five seconds, but also stores the data completely unencrypted on the user’s computer.

Security analysts demonstrated how easily someone with enough know-how and the right tools could steal the recalls saved on a Windows machine and access that data, encryption-free, on a target device.

It forced Microsoft to say in June that it would launch the Recall feature in Copilot+ PCs as an opt-in feature, giving customers the choice of whether or not they’d like to have that feature. It then added that the initial Copilot+ PCs would begin selling without Recall activated on it. Instead, Microsoft released it as a preview within the Windows Insider Program (WIP).

While the sale of Copilot+ PCs began over the last few weeks, now Microsoft has said that it is once again pushing back the full launch of Recall to at least until later this year.

“With a commitment to delivering a trustworthy and secure Recall (preview) experience, we’re sharing an update that Recall will be available to Windows Insiders starting in October,” says a statement by Microsoft.

While Microsoft will continue working with its Insider community on tweaking the tool into October, the official release of Recall to the general Copilot+ user base is still uncertain.

Windows Control Panel

Microsoft has confirmed that it is in the process of closing its ‘Control Panel’ in favour of its Settings app.

“The Control Panel is being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a modern and streamlined experience,” confirms a statement on the Windows Configuration Tool page’s Control Panel section.

This page also refers to Settings as “the main application to customize and manage Windows settings.”

It doesn’t however mention any specific date or timeline for the complete migration to the Settings app.

The Control Panel first appeared as early as Windows 1.0. The Settings app meanwhile appeared in 2012. Gradually, Microsoft migrated increasingly advanced settings over to the Settings app.