This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable saving Recall snapshots for your account or all users in Windows 11 on Copilot+ PCs.
Starting with Windows 11 build 26120.2415 (Dev) on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, you can try out the Recall (Preview) feature.
Starting with Windows 11 build 26120.2510 (Dev), Microsoft is expanding the preview of Recall to Windows Insiders on AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs.
Recall was introduced earlier this year, with the ability to enable you to quickly find and jump back into what you have seen before on your PC. You can use an explorable timeline to find the content you remember seeing before. You can also use semantic powered search and just describe how you remember something and Recall will retrieve the moment you saw it. Any photo, link, or message can be a fresh point to continue from.
To use Recall you need to opt in to saving snapshots, which are screenshots of your activity. Snapshots and the contextual information derived from them are saved and encrypted to your local hard drive. Recall does not share snapshots or associated data with Microsoft or third parties, nor is it shared between different Windows users on the same device. Windows will ask for your permission before saving snapshots. You are always in control, and you can delete snapshots, pause or turn them off at any time. Any future options for the user to share data will require fully informed explicit action by the user.
If you opt in to the feature, then as you use your PC, a snapshot of your active screen will be saved every few seconds and when the content of your active window changes. Snapshots are also protected with Windows Hello, so that you are the only signed in user can access Recall content. Recall allows you to search for content, including both images and text, using the clues you remember. Trying to remember the name of the sustainable restaurant you saw last week? Just ask Recall and it retrieves both text and visual matches for your search, automatically sorted by how closely the results match your search. Recall can even jump back into the content you saw.
You're always in control of what's saved as a snapshot. You can disable saving snapshots, pause temporarily, filter apps and websites, and delete your snapshots at any time.
You can choose how long snapshots can be saved on your device. In the Maximum storage duration for snapshots setting, select either 30, 60, 90, 180 days, or unlimited. Once snapshots reach the age limit, they are deleted from the device. If you don’t set the maximum storage duration, then snapshots aren’t deleted until the Maximum storage for snapshots limit is reached, and then the oldest snapshots are deleted first.
To help maintain your privacy, Recall processes your content locally on the Copilot+ PC and securely stores it only on your device. Snapshots are encrypted by Device Encryption or BitLocker, which are enabled by default on Windows 11. Recall doesn't share snapshots with other users that are signed into Windows on the same device. Microsoft can't access or view the snapshots.
Your PC needs the following minimum system requirements for Recall:
- A Copilot+ PC that meets the Secured-core standard
- 40 TOPs NPU (neural processing unit)
- 16 GB RAM
- 8 logical processors
- 256 GB storage capacity
- To enable Recall, you’ll need at least 50 GB of storage space free
- Saving snapshots automatically pauses once the device has less than 25 GB of storage space
- Users need to enable Device Encryption or BitLocker
- Users need to enroll into Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security with at least one biometric sign-in option enabled in order to authenticate

Recall overview
Retrace your steps with Recall - Microsoft Support


Manage Recall for Windows clients
Privacy and control over your Recall experience - Microsoft Support


Update on Recall security and privacy architecture


Update on the Recall preview feature for Copilot+ PCs

Recall (Preview) will begin to rollout on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, with support for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs coming soon. As we gradually roll out Recall in preview, Recall is supported on select languages including Chinese (simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. Content-based and storage limitations apply. See here for more details. Recall is not yet available in all regions, with expanded availability coming over time.
- Option One: Turn On or Off Saving Recall Snapshots for Current User in Settings
- Option Two: Enable or Disable Saving Recall Snapshots for All Users in Local Group Policy Editor
- Option Three: Enable or Disable Saving Recall Snapshots for All Users using REG file
EXAMPLE Recall on Copilot+ PC
1 Open Settings (Win+I).
2 Click/tap on Privacy & security on the left side, and click/tap on Recall & snapshots on the right side under "Windows permissions". (see screenshot below)
3 Under Snapshots, turn on (default) or off Save snapshots for what you want. (see screenshot below)
4 If you turned on Save snapshots, then click/tap on OK when prompted by Windows Security to approve. (see screenshot below)
5 You can now close Settings if you like.
You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.
The Local Group Policy Editor is only available in the Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.
All editions can use Option Three to configure the same policy.
1 Open the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc).
2 Navigate to the location below in the left pane of Local Group Policy Editor. (see screenshot below)
3 In the right pane of Windows AI, double click/tap on the Turn off Saving Snapshots for Windows policy to edit it. (see screenshot above)
4 Do step 5 (enable) or step 6 (disable) below for what you want.
This is the default setting to allow using Option One.
This will override Option One.
7 You can now close the Local Group Policy Editor if you like.
You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.
1 Do step 2 (enable) or step 3 (disable) below for what you would like to do.
This is the default setting to allow using Option One.
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\default\WindowsAI\DisableAIDataAnalysis]
"value"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI]
"DisableAIDataAnalysis"=-
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI]
"DisableAIDataAnalysis"=-
This will override Option One.
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI]
"DisableAIDataAnalysis"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI]
"DisableAIDataAnalysis"=dword:00000001
4 Save the REG file to your desktop.
5 Double click/tap on the downloaded REG file to merge it.
6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
7 You can now delete the downloaded REG file if you like.
That's it,
Shawn Brink
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