Microsoft's Recall feature under scrutiny as Brave and AdGuard join Signal in blocking screenshot access.

Brave and AdGuard have joined Signal in blocking Microsoft's Recall feature due to privacy concerns. Brave will block Recall by default on Windows 11 and newer systems, while AdGuard called Recall a "privacy concern" and stated that it will block the feature on its ad-blocking and privacy tool. Recall is an AI-powered feature that takes automatic screenshots on Copilot Plus PCs.

In a significant move to protect user privacy, the Brave web browser and the ad-blocker AdGuard have joined Signal in blocking Microsoft's controversial Recall feature by default. Brave, known for its strong privacy stance, will block Recall on Windows 11 and newer systems, while AdGuard has also cited privacy concerns, stating that it will block the feature on its ad-blocking and privacy tool.

Microsoft's Recall is an AI-powered feature that automatically captures screenshots on Copilot Plus PCs. The feature has been criticized for its potential to capture sensitive information, including private chats and online forms. Brave and AdGuard have expressed concerns about the feature's ability to capture users' entire browsing history, which could be ripe for abuse in highly privacy-sensitive scenarios.

The decision by Brave and AdGuard to block Recall by default reflects growing concerns about user privacy and data security. Brave, in particular, has cited concerns about privacy-sensitive scenarios, such as intimate partner violence, where persistent browsing history databases could enable harmful surveillance. AdGuard has also raised concerns about the "unsettling" idea of background screen captures.

Microsoft's Recall was first introduced in May 2024, triggering widespread criticism from security and privacy advocates. The feature captured full-screen screenshots every few seconds and stored them in a plaintext database, creating potential exploitation opportunities for malware and unauthorized access. Despite Microsoft's subsequent security improvements, Brave's engineering team determined that the risks remained too significant to ignore.

Brave's solution employs an elegant technical approach that extends Microsoft's existing privacy protections for private browsing windows to all Brave browser tabs. The implementation tells the Windows operating system that every Brave tab operates in 'private' mode, effectively preventing Recall from capturing any screenshots of Brave browsing activity. This method allows users to access the feature through brave://settings/privacy where they can find the "Block Microsoft Recall" toggle.

Unlike Signal's approach, which uses the DRM flag to disable all screenshots and inadvertently blocks legitimate accessibility software, Brave's solution maintains granular control. This allows regular screenshot functionality to continue working while specifically blocking Recall, ensuring compatibility with screen-readers and other accessibility tools that depend on screenshot capabilities.

The decision by Brave and AdGuard to block Recall by default represents a significant privacy milestone, establishing new standards for browser-level protection against operating system surveillance features. The implementation demonstrates both technical sophistication and principled commitment to user privacy, offering a template for how browsers can protect users from potentially invasive system-level features while maintaining essential functionality.

References:

[1] https://www.engadget.com/ai/brave-and-adguard-now-block-microsoft-recall-by-default-152601475.html

[2] https://cybersecuritynews.com/brave-browser-blocks-microsoft-recall/

[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/23/microsoft_copilot_vision/