How to enable Recall (AI timeline) on Windows 11

• To enable Recall on Windows 11, open Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots and turn on “Save snapshots.”

UPDATED 11/26/2024: On Windows 11 24H2, Recall comes enabled by default on compatible devices, but if the feature isn’t available in the Taskbar, you can turn it on manually, and in this guide, I will show you how to complete this task.

What is Recall?

Windows Recall is an AI feature that works like photographic memory. It records everything you have done on your computer through snapshots and turns the data into searchable moments that you can search using natural language. You can also use the Timeline option to scroll back to a specific time to find a particular activity, such as a website, conversation, application, etc.

What are Recall requirements?

If you want to enable Recall, the computer must be running Windows 11 24H2 (or a higher release) and meet the hardware requirements to be a Copilot Plus PC, which includes:

• CPU: Snapdragon X or equivalent processor.
• NPU: Neural Processing Unit with 40 TOPS (Tera Operations per Second).
• Memory: 16GB (minimum).
• Storage: 256GB of SSD (minimum).

As part of the supported processors, some AMD and Intel processors, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 300 (up to 50 TOPS) and Intel Core Ultra 200v series (up to 120 TOPS), will support Recall. However, during the early days of the development, Microsoft is limiting the AI feature to the Snapdragon processors.

Also, before you can turn on Windows Recall, the device must have Secure Boot enabled in the firmware as well as BitLocker (or Device Encryption). Also, Windows Hello Face, Fingerprint, or PIN has to be configured before you can opt-in to enable the photographic memory feature.

In this guide, I will teach you the steps to enable the Recall feature on Windows 11 24H2 or higher releases.

Enable Recall on Windows 11

To enable the Recall feature on Windows 11, use these steps:

1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

2. Click on Privacy & security.

3. Click the Recall & snapshots page.

   

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

   

Once you complete the steps, the Recall button will appear in the System Tray and the Taskbar, and the feature will run in the background to track your activities and make them searchable.

Alternatively, you can launch the Recall app from the Start menu, and the experience will prompt you to opt in and enable the feature.

You can always click the “Recall” button from the System Tray to pause the feature or open the app to search for any activity.

If you want to disable Recall, use the same instructions, but in step 4, turn off the toggle switch.

It’s important to note that Recall works with an AI model that runs locally on the device, so snapshots are processed inside the computer and don’t get uploaded to the cloud, meaning that everything stays private on your computer.

If you don’t have the “Recall” button in the Taskbar or the settings page, the computer isn’t running the latest version of Windows 11, which in this case is version 24H2 or higher, or it’s not compatible. Also, consider that the first preview is available with the release of Windows 11 build 26120.2415 (KB5046723) in the Dev Channel, and the company is rolling out the feature gradually.

Update November 26, 2024: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.