Jun 13, 2024 21:00:00

'OpenRecall' is a tool that reproduces the 'ReCall' function on Windows, Mac, and Linux without the need for an NPU

Microsoft has announced that it will release a feature called 'Recall' for the '

Copilot+ PC, ' a PC equipped with a high-performance NPU such as the Snapdragon X Elite and suitable for running AI, which allows users to record everything they see and do on the PC and search for it later. An open source tool called ' OpenRecall ' has been released that reproduces this Recall function on PCs that do not have an NPU.

GitHub - openrecall/openrecall: OpenRecall is a fully open-source, privacy-first alternative to proprietary solutions like Microsoft's Windows Recall. With OpenRecall, you can easily access your digital history, enhancing your memory and productivity without compromising your privacy.
https://github.com/openrecall/openrecall

You can understand what Recall is by reading the following article.

Microsoft announces new AI feature 'Recall' for Windows 11, a powerful AI search function that records everything you see and do on your PC and allows you to search later - GIGAZINE

However, the minimum system requirement for a Copilot+ PC to be able to use Recall is that it must be equipped with an NPU capable of 40 trillion calculations per second, i.e., with a performance of 40 TOPs or more.

Microsoft officially announces minimum system requirements for Windows AI PCs - GIGAZINE

OpenRecall is an open source tool that does exactly what it sounds like: it recreates Recall, taking periodic snapshots and capturing your digital history. To access the snapshots, open http://localhost:8082 in your browser.

You can move the slider bar at the top to go back through the snapshot records.

Enter your search query in the text field. In this demo, we are searching for 'india elections.'

Then, a list of snapshots of the screen where you are searching for elections in your browser was displayed.

OpenRecall uses OCR to analyze text and images in screenshots and build a searchable database, leveraging the power of local AI processing to maintain the privacy and security of your data, which is stored locally and never leaves the company.

The OpenRecall development team claims that OpenRecall has the following advantages over Recall and the macOS tool Rewind AI :

1: Transparency
OpenRecall is 100% open source, so you can audit the source code to check for potential backdoors or privacy-violating features.
2. Cross-platform
OpenRecall works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, so you can use it freely in your preferred OS environment.
3. Privacy is key
The data will be stored locally on the device and not uploaded to the cloud, and there will also be an option to encrypt it with a password for added security.
4: Hardware compatibility
While the original Recall has a hardware requirement of an NPU of 40 TOPS or more, OpenRecall is designed to run on a wide range of hardware.

OpenRecall is developed in open source and is freely distributed under the GNU Affero General Public License (AFPL) version 3.