Brave browser blocks Windows feature that takes screenshots of everything you do on your PC

If there's anything Microsoft Build 2024 will be remembered for, it's the introduction of the controversial Windows Recall on its new Copilot+ PCs. Pitched as a "photographic memory" for your computer, this feature works by constantly taking screenshots of your activity to build a detailed and searchable timeline of everything you have ever seen or done.

Almost immediately, critics and security researchers labeled the feature a privacy nightmare, pointing out that a single piece of malware could gain access to a user's entire digital life. In response to the backlash, Microsoft promised that users will be able to filter which apps get recorded, but some developers are not waiting around.

Just about a month after the feature became generally available for Copilot+ PCs (it is now rolling out to users in Europe), some app developers took matters into their own hands to protect their users.

One such company was Signal, which implemented an opt-out feature called "Screen Security" to prevent its chats from being captured. It cleverly uses a Digital Rights Management (DRM) flag to black out the application window during a screenshot attempt, using the same technology that streaming services like Netflix use to prevent people from recording movies.

Now, Brave Browser has joined the party, announcing on X that it will block Recall by default with its v1.81 update, which is expected in the coming weeks.

While Microsoft stated that Recall would not capture content from private browsing windows, Brave's new update just tells the Windows operating system that all of its browser windows are private. This prevents Recall from snapshotting anything you do in Brave, not just the activity in a designated private tab.

In its announcement, the company did give Microsoft some credit for making changes following the initial public outcry, such as making Recall an opt-in feature. However, the company still feels that giving any application unrestricted access to a user's browsing history is a huge risk.

If you, for some reason, like Windows Recall, you can disable the upcoming protection by navigating to Settings, then Privacy and Security, and toggling off the "Block Microsoft Recall" option.