4 Quick ways to permanently disable Windows Recall on Windows 11

• To disable Recall on Windows 11, open Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots and turn off the “Save snapshots” toggle switch.
• It’s also possible to disable Windows Recall AI in the Registry, via Group Policy Editor, or by resetting the feature.

On Windows 11, you can disable the Windows Recall feature completely using at least four different methods, and this guide walks you through each option step by step.

Recall is designed to act as a photographic memory for your computer. Powered by a local AI model, the feature continuously captures snapshots of your screen to help you search and get back to past activities, including documents, websites, chats, images, and apps you have previously used. The goal is to make it easier to retrace your digital steps using natural language, without relying on traditional file or browser history.

Despite its ambitious vision, Recall has triggered widespread privacy and security concerns since its introduction. The feature works by taking screenshots of your screen at regular intervals, roughly every five seconds. These snapshots can unintentionally include sensitive information such as private conversations, account details, work documents, or personal images. Although Microsoft has added filters to prevent passwords, PINs, and credit card numbers from being stored, many users remain uncomfortable with the idea of continuous screen capture running in the background.

There are also practical concerns beyond privacy. Recall operates continuously, raising questions about system resources, storage usage, and battery life. While the company designed the feature to rely primarily on the Neural Processing Unit to reduce performance impact, some users prefer to keep their system as lean as possible, especially on portable devices.

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Completely uninstall Recall feature on Windows 11 (3 ways)

Trust plays a role as well. Microsoft has emphasized that Windows Recall processes data locally and does not upload snapshots to its servers. Even so, skepticism remains among users who would rather not store such a detailed visual history on their devices at all, regardless of encryption or guarantees of local processing.

In response to early backlash, the software giant revised Recall to include stronger, privacy-focused defaults. The feature is now opt-in, meaning it is not enabled automatically during setup. Snapshots are encrypted and require user authentication to access. Content filtering has been expanded to exclude additional sensitive data types, and new taskbar controls let users pause recording or quickly clear stored activity.

Even with these improvements, Windows Recall is not a feature everyone wants. For users who prefer full control over their privacy, Windows 11 provides multiple ways to disable Recall entirely. You can turn it off using the Settings app, Taskbar controls, Group Policy, the Registry, or by resetting the feature. The following sections explain each method so you can choose the approach that best fits your setup and comfort level.

In this guide, I will outline the steps to completely disable the Recall feature on Windows 11.

• Disable Recall using the Snapshot settings on Windows 11
• Disable Recall using the Reset option on Windows 11
• Disable Recall using the Registry on Windows 11
• Disable Recall using the Group Policy Editor on Windows 11
• FAQs about disabling Recall on Windows 11

Disable Recall using the Snapshots settings on Windows 11

To disable Recall on Windows 11, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

2. Click on Privacy & security.

3. Click the Recall & snapshots page.

   

4. Turn off the “Save snapshots” toggle switch.

   

5. (Optional) Click the Delete snapshots setting.

6. Click the Delete all button for the “Delete all snapshots” setting.

   

Once you complete the steps, the Recall feature will be disabled and will no longer take snapshots of every activity.

If you only want to turn the feature off temporarily, click the “Recall” icon in the Taskbar and select the “Pause until tomorrow” option.

After you complete the steps, the AI timeline will temporarily pause taking snapshots until you turn the feature back on.

To enable Recall again, follow the same instructions, but in step 4, turn on the toggle switch.

Disable Recall using the Reset option on Windows 11

To reset and disable the Windows Recall feature, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on Privacy & security.

3. Click the Recall & snapshots page.

   

4. Click on Advanced settings.

   

5. Click the Reset Recall button.

   

6. Click the Reset button.

After completing these steps, Windows 11 will delete all collected snapshots, filters for apps and websites, and restore all settings, permanently disabling the feature.

Disable Recall using the Registry on Windows 11

If you have a device running Windows 11 Home, you won’t have access to the Group Policy Editor, but you can also disable Windows Recall through the Registry by modifying the “WindowsAI” key.

To disable Windows 11 Recall through the Registry, follow these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry Editor.

3. Open to the following path:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

4. Right-click the Windows key, select the New menu, and choose the “Key” option.

5. Confirm the WindowsAI name and press Enter.

6. Right-click the WindowsAI key, select the New menu, and choose the “DWORD (32-bit) Value” option.

   

7. Name the key AllowRecallEnablement and press Enter.

8. Double-click the newly created key and make sure the value is 0.

   

9. Click the OK button.

10. Restart the computer.

After you complete the steps, the photographic memory feature will no longer be operational on your Copilot+ PC and for all users. This process will also delete all the Recall components from the computer. If the feature was previously configured, changing the Registry keys will also delete the snapshots already stored on the computer.

Alternatively, you can also apply these changes using Command Prompt (admin) with these commands:

• reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI" /v AllowRecallEnablement /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

You can also undo the changes with this command:

• reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI" /f

After running each command, you’ll need to restart the computer to complete applying the changes.

Disable Recall using the Group Policy Editor on Windows 11

If you have a device running Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education, you can disable the Recall feature from the Group Policy Editor. This option isn’t available on Windows 11 Home.

To disable Windows Recall through Group Policy, follow these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for gpedit and click the top result to open the Group Policy Editor.

3. Open the following path:

   Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows AI 

4. Right-click the “Allow Recall to be enabled” policy and choose the Edit option.

   

5. Check the Disabled option.

   

6. Click the Apply button.

7. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the Recall feature should no longer run on your computer, and the components will be removed. If the feature was previously configured, changing the policy state will also delete the snapshots already stored on the computer. You will also need to restart the computer to complete the process.

FAQs about disabling Recall on Windows 11

If you still have questions about the Windows Recall, the following FAQs will help clarify the most common questions and provide answers to assist you in understanding and managing the feature.

Is Windows Recall enabled by default?

No. Recall is opt-in during setup. You must manually turn it on, and you can later disable it at any time.

Does disabling Windows Recall affect other Windows 11 features?

No. Turning off Recall only disables its snapshot and activity tracking. Your other Windows features, apps, and Copilot functions will continue to work normally.

Does Windows Recall impact performance or battery life?

Microsoft states that Recall utilizes the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to minimize resource usage, so the impact should be minimal. However, some users prefer to disable it to avoid constant background activity.

Is my Recall data sent to Microsoft?

No. Microsoft states that Recall snapshots are stored locally on your device, encrypted, and accessible only after you authenticate. Still, many users remain skeptical.

What are the requirements to use Windows Recall in Windows 11?

Windows Recall requires a Copilot+ PC with a supported Neural Processing Unit (NPU), at least 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. It also requires Windows 11 version 24H2 or later.

Does Recall work on older PCs without an NPU?

No. Recall is exclusive to Copilot+ PCs with ARM-based, Intel, and AMD processors and an NPU capable of at least 40+ TOPS (trillion operations per second). Traditional Intel and AMD systems without an NPU don’t support Recall.

Do I need to be connected to the internet to use Recall?

No. Recall works entirely offline. Snapshots are stored and processed locally, and Microsoft says they are not uploaded to the cloud.

Why are you disabling Windows Recall on your Copilot+ PC? Let me know in the comments.

Update January 13, 2026: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.