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Summary
- Signal blocks Windows Recall by default with Screen security setting.
- Signal unhappy with Microsoft's Recall feature.
- Signal warns of dropping Windows support in the future if privacy is impacted.
Signal is a fairly popular messaging app that is touted for its security features. It is primarily used by those who are very conscious of their privacy or are involved in whistleblowing activities. The cross-platform app offers end-to-end encryption (E2EE) and is estimated to have tens of millions of users all over the globe.
For privacy- and security-focused software like Signal, Microsoft's latest Windows 11 feature, Recall, can be particularly problematic. Although the Redmond tech firm has made several improvements to the capability since its disastrous launch last year, the "takes screenshots of everything you do on your PC" aspect still alarms many Windows 11 customers. Now, Signal has echoed that sentiment and decided to block the feature by default in its Windows 11 app.
Signal will block Windows Recall by default, with a trade-off
In a detailed blog post, Signal has announced that its Signal Desktop app will block Windows Recall by default through a new Screen security setting. This configuration will leverage Microsoft's built-in Digital Rights Management (DRM) flag, which restricts users or other applications from taking screenshots of the content being played by the software utilizing this flag. Of course, the downside of this approach is also that users won't be able to manually take screenshots until they disable this setting, which can be a nuisance in some cases. The non-profit company understands that there are many genuine cases where its customers may need to take screenshots quickly, but it believes that this is a trade-off worth making, especially if you can restrict your PC from taking screenshots of everything you do after every few seconds.
Signal isn't happy with Microsoft
Credit: Spyglass
Of course, Signal isn't particularly happy that it had to make this decision, and it has called out Microsoft in a rather scathing tone. It claims that Microsoft has made a "glaring omission" by not allowing app developers to easily restrict Recall themselves, also noting that the idea of Recall itself sounds like a feature that was generated by a rudimentary LLM as a way to make investors happy at the expense of accessibility and privacy. The company has also warned Microsoft that if its "move fast and break things" ideology impacts the foundation of privacy-preserving apps like Signal, the app may drop support for Windows altogether in the future. Signal hopes that operating system vendors like Microsoft and other firms building AI systems will be cautious about the implications of this technology, rather than just blindly rushing into the implementation phase and then expecting privacy-focused services like Signal to implement workarounds.
For now, Signal Desktop is rolling out with the Screen security feature enabled by default, but customers do have the option to disable it through Signal Settings > Privacy > Screen security. If you do attempt to disable it, you'll get a warning about Microsoft's antics, which you'll need to acknowledge in order to continue.
English (US) ·