False alarm! Microsoft says that Windows 11 users will NOT be able to uninstall controversial Recall feature

For anyone using Windows 11 who was hoping to steer clear of the upcoming Recall features, there was a glimmer of hope last week. The KB5041865 update for the operating system included the option to uninstall the controversial activity snapshotting feature, much to the delight of many.

But now Microsoft has dashed the hopes of those with privacy and security concerns, saying that the ability to uninstall Recall was a bug and that it would be fixed. What this means in practice is that Recall will be installed on all Windows 11 machines, and while it can be disabled, it cannot be uninstalled.

See also:

• If you're worried about privacy and security, you'll be able to uninstall Recall from Windows 11
• Microsoft releases KB5041587 update for Windows 11, improving Windows Share, Narrator and Voice Access, but failing to address Linux dual boot issues
• Microsoft is bringing ads to the Windows 10 Start menu, just like in Windows 11

The undocumented feature of the recent KB5041865 update saw Recall appearing as an optional (i.e. uninstallable) component in the Windows Feature Control Panel. But while this caused excitement among the large numbers of people who see Recall as a huge privacy and security risk, the option to uninstall the feature in this way was a mistake by Microsoft.

In a statement given to the Verge, Windows senior product manager Brandon LeBlanc says:

We are aware of an issue where Recall is incorrectly listed as an option under the "Turn Windows features on or off" dialog in Control Panel. This will be fixed in an upcoming update.

At least that the story for now. The sheer level of delight caused by the appearance of the option to completely kill Recall shows that there is clearly a great hunger for such an option. Is that something Microsoft is willing to ignore indefinitely? We'll have to wait and see.

Image credit: Joop Kleuskens / Dreamstime.com