Quick answer: Windows Recall does not have to be an all-or-nothing feature. On a compatible Copilot+ PC, you can pause snapshot saving until midnight, switch saving off indefinitely, exclude selected apps and websites, delete individual or grouped snapshots, reset Recall, or remove the Windows feature. The important distinction is that pausing or filtering affects future snapshots; it does not automatically erase material that was saved earlier.
If a private page was captured before you added a filter, delete the existing snapshot as well as creating the filter. This guide explains each control and its limits.
What Windows Recall saves
Recall is a Windows 11 feature for Copilot+ PCs. If you opt in, Windows periodically saves snapshots of the active screen and builds a local index that can help you find text, images, websites, and documents you saw earlier. It is not a continuous video recorder and does not record audio. Microsoft also says game video is not saved when Game Mode is active on supported systems.
Snapshot saving is off until the user enables it, and each Windows account decides separately. Recall and its settings require Windows Hello authentication.
Check whether your PC can use Recall
Recall is not a standard feature for every Windows 11 computer. Microsoft lists these minimum requirements:
- A Copilot+ PC that meets the Secured-core PC standard
- An NPU capable of at least 40 TOPS
- At least 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage capacity
- At least 50 GB of free storage before Recall can be enabled
- Device Encryption or BitLocker enabled
- Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security with at least one biometric sign-in method, such as face or fingerprint recognition
Saving pauses automatically if free storage falls below 25 GB. If you do not see Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots, the PC may not meet the requirements, the optional feature may be removed, or an administrator may be controlling it.
Option 1: pause snapshots until tomorrow
A temporary pause is useful before a banking session, confidential meeting, medical appointment, or any short task you do not want added to the timeline.
- Select the Recall icon in the system tray.
- Select Pause until tomorrow.
- Confirm that the tray icon now has a slash through it.
Microsoft says this pause ends automatically at 12:00 a.m. To restart sooner, open the tray menu and select Resume snapshots; Windows Hello authentication is required. Because the pause is temporary, do not rely on it when you want snapshot saving to remain disabled after a restart or overnight.
Option 2: turn snapshot saving off
For an open-ended stop, use the main Windows setting:
- Open Settings.
- Go to Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots.
- Turn Save snapshots off.
- Complete the Windows Hello prompt if it appears.
This stops new snapshots, but previously saved snapshots remain until you delete them or remove Recall. You can therefore keep the feature installed for later without continuing to build the timeline.
Option 3: filter apps and websites
When some work should never appear in Recall, use Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots to add an app or website filter. Filtering a browser application excludes all activity displayed through that browser.
Website filters require a supported browser. Microsoft currently lists Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Google Chrome as supporting both specified-site filters and private-browsing filtering. Other Chromium-based browsers version 124 or later can filter private-browsing activity but may not support a specific website list. The Recall icon should display a filter badge when a filtered app, website, or private-browsing window is active.
Keep Sensitive information filtering enabled. Microsoft says it is on by default and is intended to reduce snapshots containing passwords, national identification numbers, and payment-card numbers.
Important filter limitations
- A website is filtered when it is the foreground site in the active supported-browser tab. Embedded material, browser history, or another tab may still appear in a snapshot.
- Private-browsing exclusion depends on using a supported browser.
- A new filter does not delete older snapshots of that app or website.
- Recall filtering does not stop a website, browser, employer, network provider, or internet service provider from recording activity through its own systems.
- Microsoft describes sensitive-information filtering as helping to reduce capture; it should not be treated as a guarantee that every sensitive item will be detected.
If you routinely handle confidential content, filtering the entire application is safer than maintaining a long list of individual domains. After adding a filter, open the relevant app or site and check for the filter badge before assuming it is working.
Option 4: delete existing snapshots
Recall provides several levels of deletion. For one item, open Recall, find the snapshot, select its three-dot menu, and choose Delete. If the snapshot reveals an app or website that should have been filtered, you may also see an option to delete all snapshots associated with that app or website. Review the reported number of items before confirming.
For deletion by age or a complete cleanup, open Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots and expand the snapshot-deletion controls. Windows lets you delete all snapshots or choose a specific timeframe. You can also adjust the maximum storage allocation and how long snapshots are retained. When the storage limit is reached, the oldest snapshots are deleted automatically.
Delete one snapshot for an isolated mistake or an entire app or website group after discovering a missing filter. Consider a complete deletion before changing how the PC is used.
Reset Recall or remove it completely
Reset Recall deletes the stored snapshots and returns Recall settings to their defaults. Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots > Advanced settings, select Reset Recall, confirm the reset, and authenticate with Windows Hello. Microsoft notes that a reset does not delete snapshots you previously exported or content already shared with and saved by another app or website.
To remove the optional feature:
- Search the Start menu for Turn Windows features on or off.
- Clear the checkbox beside Recall.
- Select OK and restart the PC when prompted.
Microsoft says removing Recall also deletes the snapshots stored by the feature. You can reinstall it later by returning to Windows Features, selecting Recall, and restarting again. On a work or school PC, policy may remove Recall or lock some settings; the organization can restrict the feature, but Microsoft says an administrator cannot opt an individual user into snapshot saving without that user’s choice.
What “stored locally” does and does not mean
Microsoft says no cloud connection is required to save or analyze Recall snapshots, that the snapshots are stored locally, and that Microsoft cannot view them. Saved data is protected using Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security, TPM-backed keys, and a virtualization-based security enclave. Recall content is also separated between Windows users on the same device.
Those safeguards reduce access; they do not make every captured screen harmless. Anyone who can successfully authenticate as you may be able to open your Recall history. Exported snapshots and items sent to other applications are outside the original Recall store. Diagnostic data follows the Windows diagnostic-data choices, and selecting online actions in Click to Do can send the chosen content to an online provider. Local processing is therefore an important privacy property, not a substitute for good account security and careful filters.
A sensible privacy setup
Before enabling snapshots, add filters for password managers, financial tools, medical portals, private work apps, and any browser you prefer to exclude completely. Leave sensitive-information filtering on, use a strong Windows Hello setup, and check the tray badge when testing filters. Review the timeline after the first day instead of assuming the defaults match your routine.
If you only need Recall occasionally, keep snapshot saving off and enable it for a defined research session. If you use it regularly, set a practical retention period and review stored material every few weeks. If its search benefit does not outweigh the maintenance and privacy decisions for you, remove the feature. All three choices are legitimate; the right one depends on what appears on your screen.
Final verdict
Recall offers useful controls, but they solve different problems. Pause for a short private task, switch saving off for an indefinite stop, filter apps or websites before using them, and delete anything that was already captured. Reset when you want a clean start; remove the optional feature when you do not want Recall on the PC. The safest approach is to configure exclusions first, then verify them visibly rather than trusting that a filter or sensitive-data detector will catch every situation.
