Technology
Could Microsoft's creepy 'Recall' AI feature become potent spy tool for crooks?
Microsoft has announced a change in the rollout plan for the Recall preview feature on Copilot+ PCs. Instead of a broad preview release on June 18, 2024, as initially planned, Recall will first be made available to the Windows Insider Program in the coming weeks. By gathering feedback from Insiders, Microsoft aims to refine the feature further before making it available to all Copilot+ PC users.
Microsoft recently announced the “Recall” feature for Copilot+ PCs, an AI tool capable of recording everything on your screen. Recall is designed to act as a personal “photographic memory,” capturing periodic snapshots of your screen to create a visual timeline. It allows you to easily find and revisit content you’ve previously viewed across apps, websites, documents and more.
While the ability to instantly recall on-screen information could be incredibly useful, security researchers have exposed potential flaws that could expose personal data to malicious code. Maybe that’s why Microsoft, for the moment, is delaying its implementation in new computers being delivered this week.
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Copilot + PC logo (Microsoft) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
The nightmare scenario of recall as a spy tool
While Recall’s ability to surface past on-screen content could be incredibly useful, there are legitimate fears that the feature could become a potent spy tool and a potential “nightmare” if your device falls into the wrong hands.
Even if you use incognito mode or clear your browsing history, Recall still has full access to your entire on-screen history. Microsoft says the data never leaves your computer, but critics aren’t fully convinced.
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AI feature called Recall (Microsoft) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Security researchers expose Recall’s risky flaws
The AI-informed system regularly snapshots what you’re doing on screen and lets you search for important data you may have lost track of as you work. However, security experts who examined Recall’s operation closely concluded that the system could pose serious security risks.
Recall is built into what Microsoft is calling “Copilot+” PCs – the tech giant’s vision of how traditional computers will become AI-powered workhorses. When it launched, Microsoft explained that Recall wouldn’t capture certain private content like Netflix videos or incognito browser sessions but would see everything else. In theory, this broad visibility makes Recall more useful for resurfacing lost work.
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AI feature called Recall (Microsoft) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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Flaws could expose personal data to malicious code
But security researcher Kevin Beaumont has already found very worrying flaws. In particular, the system stores data in a straightforward plain text system that malicious code could easily trawl through to find any personal data, from sensitive work files to private communications. He says the fear is that Recall makes it easier for malware and attackers to steal information. Beaumont admits Microsoft made some “smart decisions” around encryption, but he says they ultimately don’t work.
AI feature called Recall (Microsoft) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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Potential for exposing sensitive information
He’s withholding full technical details for now to give Microsoft time to fix the loophole. But the potential for exposing everything from financial data to private health information is clear. Even if you trust Microsoft, bad actors could potentially find ingenious ways to exploit the tool’s treasure trove of data.
AI feature called Recall (Microsoft) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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Balancing innovation and data protection
Whether Microsoft can swiftly resolve Recall’s security gaps or not, the revelations highlight how new AI capabilities often raise new privacy minefields that need to be carefully navigated. Innovative features and robust data protection will need to go hand-in-hand as AI plays a bigger role on our devices. While the debate rages on about Recall’s potential privacy implications, there are some proactive steps you can take to protect your data and use the tool more securely.
Ad for AI feature called Recall (Microsoft) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Opt out if you’re uncomfortable
First and foremost, Recall is an opt-in feature during the initial device setup. If you have reservations, simply decline to enable it. Your computer will function normally without this “time machine” capability.
AI feature called Recall (Microsoft) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Customize what Recall can see
If you do enable Recall, take advantage of the customization options to blacklist any apps, programs or websites you want to exclude from being recorded and indexed. This lets you pick and choose what Recall has access to.
Privacy and security page for AI feature called Recall (Microsoft) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Use separate devices for different activities
One low-tech solution is to use dedicated devices for different purposes. Keep one computer for work, one for personal browsing and one for any ultrasensitive activities you want to completely wall off from Recall’s monitoring. As Recall evolves, look for guidance from Microsoft as adjusting your settings and adopting new privacy habits could become necessary.
Privacy and security page for AI feature called Recall (Microsoft) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Addressing privacy and security concerns
In response to these privacy and security concerns, Microsoft has announced several updates to Recall:
- Recall will be off by default, requiring users to proactively opt in to enable it.
- Windows Hello enrollment and proof of presence will be required to view the timeline and search in Recall.
- Additional layers of data protection, including “just in time” decryption protected by Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS), will be implemented, ensuring snapshots are only decrypted and accessible when the user authenticates.
- The search index database will be encrypted.
Microsoft has also reinforced its commitment to security, stating that all Copilot+ PCs will be Secured-core PCs with advanced firmware safeguards, Microsoft Pluton security processor enabled by default, and Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security for more secure biometric sign-ins.
Privacy controls and user choice
Microsoft emphasizes that users will have control over what Recall captures and saves:
- Snapshots are stored locally and not shared with Microsoft or other companies.
- Users can pause, filter and delete snapshots at any time.
- Digital rights managed or InPrivate browsing content will not be saved.
- For managed work devices, IT administrators can disable the ability to save snapshots, but cannot enable it without user consent.
While Recall aims to provide a useful AI-powered experience, Microsoft acknowledges the importance of user trust and choice, positioning the preview as an opportunity to learn from real-world scenarios and refine the feature based on feedback.
Insider feedback and broader availability
Once the Recall preview is available in the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft will publish a blog post detailing how to access it. Participation in the Recall preview will require a Copilot+ PC due to hardware requirements.
After gathering feedback from the Insider community, Microsoft plans to make the Recall preview available to all Copilot+ PC users, incorporating insights and refinements based on real-world scenarios.
Microsoft’s response
We reached out to Microsoft, and a company rep steered us toward the company’s website, where they have this statement posted: “We are on a journey to build products and experiences that live up to our company mission to empower people and organizations to achieve more, and are driven by the critical importance of maintaining our customers’ privacy, security and trust. As we always do, we will continue to listen to and learn from our customers, including consumers, developers and enterprises, to evolve our experiences in ways that are meaningful to them.”
Kurt’s key takeaways
Microsoft’s Recall AI is currently in preview status, and while it is undeniably useful, it is also undeniably concerning from a privacy perspective. Keeping all that rich data exclusively local is smart but probably not an ironclad guarantee against potential misuse down the road. As always, with new tech, users will decide if the convenience is worth the potential risks for their own situation. For some, Recall may be a dream; for others, it could be a nightmare. Regardless, the debate shows that we still have work to do in striking the right balance between innovation and privacy in the AI era.
How do you balance the benefits of innovative AI features like Recall with the need for personal data protection and privacy? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
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Microsoft may once again be struggling to keep up with its own climate goals, according to its 2026 sustainability report. As reported by GeekWire, the report states that Microsoft’s carbon emissions increased 25 percent in 2025, totalling 34 million metric tons “without select interventions.” Microsoft says this was “driven primarily by the expansion of our datacenter infrastructure,” as well as the company’s decision last February to stop purchasing “non-additional, unbundled renewable energy certificates.”
Several years ago, Microsoft set itself a goal to be carbon negative by 2030, meaning it will need to remove more carbon emissions than it produces. This isn’t the first time Microsoft has faced setbacks toward accomplishing that goal, as its 2024 sustainability report showed a similar rise in climate pollution. This year’s report admits that, “While AI infrastructure is driving demand for energy, water, land, and materials, sustainability solutions are not scaling fast enough to meet demand.”
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That old phone sitting in your drawer may have more life left in it than you think. You may look at it and see a dead battery, an outdated camera or a screen that no longer feels worth using. Google and researchers at the University of California San Diego see something else: a tiny computer that may still have useful processing power.
Their idea is called phone cluster computing. Instead of treating retired smartphones as electronic waste, researchers remove the motherboard and redeploy it as part of a low-carbon computing system.
Google says UC San Diego plans to launch a data center built from 2,000 Pixel smartphones in fall 2026. The goal is to provide low-cost cloud computing for students and researchers while reducing the need for newly manufactured server hardware.
That means the next chapter for an old phone may not be a junk drawer. It may be a server rack.
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Researchers plan to launch a 2,000-phone data center at UC San Diego in fall 2026 to support students and research workloads. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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What is phone cluster computing?
Phone cluster computing takes retired smartphones and turns their core hardware into a computing platform. The process starts by stripping each phone down to the motherboard. That board holds the processor, memory and storage. The display, battery, cameras, chassis and other phone-specific parts are removed.
That step is important because a full phone does not belong in a data center. Batteries can create safety issues. Screens and cameras waste space. The motherboard is the part that still offers computing value.
Once the board is removed, researchers load a general-purpose Linux system onto it. Android already runs on Linux at its core, but Android is built for mobile apps and personal devices. A data center needs something more flexible for cloud workloads. After that, the phone boards can be grouped into clusters. Many small boards then work together like a collection of tiny servers.
Why Google wants old Pixel phones for cloud computing
The AI boom has created a huge appetite for computing power. Data centers need more chips, more electricity and more cooling. At the same time, billions of phones fall out of use around the world.
This Google-backed project takes that conversation in a different direction by asking whether some useful computing can come from hardware we already made.
The project focuses on embodied carbon. That means the emissions created before a device ever turns on. Mining, manufacturing and shipping all add to that carbon footprint.
If a phone motherboard already exists, reusing it can avoid some of the environmental cost tied to manufacturing new hardware. Google says the motherboard accounts for about half of a phone’s embodied carbon, which makes it the most valuable part to recover.
How retired smartphones become low-carbon servers
You cannot plug a pile of old phones into a rack and call it a data center. The process requires careful teardown, new software and a way to manage many boards at once. Google says the project uses containerized applications managed by Kubernetes. That helps coordinate the work across many devices.
The phones are organized into self-managing clusters of about 25 to 50 boards. Each board works as a small Linux machine. Together, they can handle tasks that would otherwise run on traditional cloud servers. That does not make one phone equal to one server. A server has many more processor cores, more memory and data center-grade hardware. A phone board has fewer resources and tighter limits. Still, some jobs do not need a giant machine. They need enough compute to run efficiently without wasting resources.
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Google and UC San Diego are testing a cloud computing system built from retired Pixel phone motherboards, giving old smartphones a possible second life. (Google)
Can old phone processors handle cloud workloads?
The technical case is stronger than you may expect. Google says the single-threaded performance of modern smartphone performance cores can match or beat the per-core performance of some modern multicore servers. In one comparison, a 2023 Pixel Fold was tested against an ASUS RS720A-E11 server using SPEC benchmarks. The Pixel Fold’s performance cores beat the baseline data center server core on many of the tests. That sounds impressive, but there is an important catch.
A smartphone board has a smaller memory limit and fewer cores. It also lacks the management tools and hardware durability that servers are built around. So the project needs the right workloads.
UC San Diego is starting with educational and research computing. That makes sense because many classroom tasks can run on small cloud instances. Google says early experiments showed that a 20-phone cluster could support peak submission rates for a class of more than 75 students. The grading latency also came in below the default AWS backend used in the comparison.
Why UC San Diego is testing a 2,000 Pixel phone data center
UC San Diego plans to use the 2,000-phone cluster to support computer science classes and research workloads. Google says the deployment could support about 100 classes at once. It also describes the system as providing about 50 server-equivalents worth of compute at a fraction of the usual cost.
For a university, that could be a major advantage. Cloud computing costs can rise quickly, especially when many students submit assignments at the same time. If a reused phone cluster can handle some of that load, schools may save money while reducing demand for newly manufactured servers.
This also gives researchers a chance to test phone-based computing at scale. A small lab demo can look promising. A 2,000-board deployment will show much more about reliability, maintenance and day-to-day performance.
Phone cluster computing still has big limits
Phone cluster computing sounds promising, but it still has a lot to prove. Your smartphone was made for daily use in your hand, not nonstop work inside a data center. Data center servers are built to run for years with steady cooling, fast repairs and constant monitoring. Phone motherboards come from devices made for pockets, backpacks and kitchen counters. That alone raises some big questions.
The boards could fail faster than expected. Cooling may also become a challenge once thousands of tiny processors run side by side. Then there is the labor problem, because someone has to safely remove batteries, screens and other parts before the boards can be reused. Cost will be the deciding factor. If teardown, maintenance and replacement work get too expensive, this idea may stay in the research lab.
Phone clusters also will not replace the massive GPU systems that power advanced AI training. They make more sense for smaller cloud jobs, classroom tools and research tasks that fit within smartphone hardware limits. That still leaves plenty of useful work. After all, not every cloud task needs the newest chip.
Why old smartphones could help cut e-waste
The world’s e-waste problem is growing fast. The Global E-waste Monitor projects that electronic waste could climb to 82 million tonnes by 2030, while formal collection and recycling rates are expected to fall to 20%. Old phones are a big part of that problem because many never make it to a proper recycling program. They sit in drawers, land in closets or get tossed out with valuable parts still inside. Even when a phone no longer feels useful to you, its processor, memory and storage may still have work left to do.
CyberGuy has covered related second-life ideas before, including old smartphones being turned into tiny data centers and repurposed EV batteries helping power AI data centers. The common theme is hard to ignore. Some of the hardware already in circulation may still have useful work left to do.
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Google says reusing smartphone motherboards could cut hardware waste and reduce the carbon cost of building new data center servers. (Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)
How to safely recycle or reuse your old phone
This research does not mean you should toss your old phone into a random donation bin tomorrow. Before you recycle, donate, trade in or sell an old phone, you need to protect your data. Back up anything you want to keep. Then sign out of your accounts and securely wipe the device.
CyberGuy has a helpful guide on how to securely get rid of your old cell phone. Privacy comes first whenever you part with a device.
You can also consider trade-in programs, certified refurbishers or reputable electronics recycling programs. If the phone still works, buying refurbished can also keep devices in use longer. CyberGuy has covered what to know before buying refurbished electronics, which is helpful if you want to save money without taking a gamble. The key is to avoid letting old devices sit forgotten forever. A phone in a drawer helps no one.
What this means to you
That old phone in your drawer may not be as useless as it looks. Even if the battery is tired or the camera feels outdated, the processor inside may still have real value.
Now, you probably will not be mailing your old phone to a Google data center anytime soon. Still, this project points to a bigger shift in how we think about retired tech. Instead of sending every old device straight to recycling or letting it collect dust, companies, schools and researchers may find smarter ways to reuse the parts that still work.
There is also a money lesson here. If your current phone still runs well, you may not need to rush into an upgrade just because a newer model comes out. A battery replacement, trade-in or refurbished option could save you money while keeping perfectly good hardware in use longer. To me, that is the real takeaway. The phone you forgot about could possibly still have a job to do.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Google and UC San Diego are testing how to turn retired Pixel phone motherboards into a low-carbon cloud computing platform. The project could give old smartphones a second life while reducing the need for newly manufactured servers. That is important as AI data centers keep demanding more computing power and more electricity. The first major test is expected in fall 2026 with a 2,000-phone data center at UC San Diego. If it works, the cluster could support students and researchers at a lower cost than traditional cloud infrastructure. However, this idea still has to prove it can handle the grind of daily use. Reliability, cooling, teardown labor and maintenance will determine whether phone cluster computing can grow beyond just research. To me, the most relatable part is sitting in your junk drawer. That old phone may seem useless, but its processor could still be powerful enough to help run cloud jobs. Maybe the future of computing starts with hardware we already forgot we owned.
Would you feel good knowing your old phone could help power cloud computing? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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If you’re looking for a relatively affordable way to cut down on cooling costs, Google’s Nest Thermostat can help. It’s packed with smart controls and energy-saving features, and right now it’s on sale in white for $79 ($50 off), which is its best price of the year, at Amazon.
The smart thermostat is quick to install and makes it easy to adjust your home’s temperature whether you’re relaxing in bed or on your way home thanks to the Google Home app. You can also create schedules and control it with your voice using Google Assistant, Alexa, or another Matter-compatible voice assistant.
Once it’s set up, the Nest Thermostat can automatically turn the temperature down when you’re away to help reduce unnecessary energy use, while Google’s Savings Finder feature suggests additional ways to save over time. It also monitors your HVAC system and can alert you if something doesn’t seem right, making it easier to stay on top of maintenance before small issues become bigger, more expensive ones. If you’re eligible, Nest Renew can also automatically shift some of your heating and cooling to times when electricity is cleaner or cheaper.
That said, this is Google’s entry-level model from 2020, so you do miss out on some of the premium features found on the latest Nest Learning Thermostat. Unlike the flagship version, it won’t learn your schedule automatically over time, for example, and lacks support for Nest Temperature Sensors that let you prioritize the temperature in a specific room. Even so, if all you want is an easy way to adjust your home’s temperature remotely and potentially lower your energy bills, the Nest Thermostat is still a solid investment at this price.
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