Microsoft Recall

Windows Recall is an AI-powered feature of Windows 11 that intends to help users remember anything they do on their PC at any time, and potentially resume or investigate them later. Users inquire the AI through natural language. This feature has a rigid set of system requirements, including a 40 TOPS neural processing unit (NPU) and cryptography. The feature has met severe backlash.

Overview

Windows Recall takes a screenshot of a user's desktop every few seconds, then uses on-device large language models to allow a user to retrieve items and information that had previously been on their screen. It was announced by Microsoft, alongside the integration of GPT-4o into Microsoft Copilot, and an upgraded user interface in Windows 11, in May 2024^[1]

Systems using Recall must have the following requirements:^[2]

• Copilot+ PC that meets the Secured-core standard
• A neural processing unit (NPU) capable of 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS)
• 16 GB RAM
• 8 logical processors
• 256 GB storage capacity, with 50 GB of free space (Saving snapshots automatically pauses should the device has less than 25 GB of free storage space)
• BitLocker Device Encryption enabled
• Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security enabled, with at least one biometric sign-in option

Controversy

Recall's release immediately caused controversy, with experts warning that the feature could be a "disaster" for security and privacy,^[3] particularly since there was initially no option for users to disable it.^[4] This backlash prompted Microsoft to postpone its rollout.^[3][5] Microsoft changed the feature to opt-in and provided instructions for how to remove it.^[2]

Backlash against Recall was centered on both security and privacy. Upon its release, Recall was described as a "potential security nightmare".^[6] The initial version of Recall saved all data to a plaintext database, making it easy for the data to be stolen.^[7] Later versions of Recall have added encryption.^[4] In response to the release of Recall, privacy-first messaging app Signal published a feature for Signal Desktop to include a "Screen security" setting that will block Recall from taking screenshots of Signal chats on Windows. The setting is enabled by default when using Signal Desktop on Windows 11.^[8] Brave and AdGuard added similar functionality in July 2025.^[9]

Although Microsoft claims that all information from Recall is stored locally and that they cannot access it, their record in regards to user privacy has led many to conclude that, even if their claims are true of the present version, it may not be true of later versions and that data from Recall will inevitably be used in the future for advertising.^[10] Because of this, many people are looking to disable Microsoft Recall.^[11]