🇺🇸 USA · Microsoft Recall
Status: 🟩 COMPLETE 🟦 LIVING Last updated: 2026-06-26 Plain-English tagline: Microsoft’s “AI-searchable memory of everything that happened on your PC” feature for Copilot+ PCs. Controversial at launch; redesigned with strong security; off-by-default opt-in. The single most-debated AI feature of 2024-25.
Front-matter facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vendor | Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, USA) |
| Country / origin | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Recommended for Australian users? | ⚠️ Use with caution — privacy implications are real even after redesign; opt-in only; understand what you’re enabling before turning on |
| Privacy summary | On-device only (data never leaves your PC), off by default, opt-in required, encrypted, excludes sensitive content (passwords, banking apps, InPrivate browsing). Significantly redesigned from the controversial 2024 initial design. |
| Free tier | Yes — bundled with Copilot+ PCs at no extra cost |
| Paid tiers | None separate; comes with eligible hardware |
| First released | Announced May 2024 (controversial original design); withdrawn / redesigned through 2024-25; phased re-release in 2025-26 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-06-26 |
| Official site | https://support.microsoft.com/recall |
What it is
Microsoft Recall is a Copilot+ PC feature that takes periodic snapshots of your PC screen, processes them locally with on-device AI, and lets you search across everything you’ve seen / done using natural language. “Find that document I was reading about Sydney rentals last Tuesday” — Recall finds the moment, opens the source.
The mental model: photographic memory for your computer. Useful in principle (“I know I saw X somewhere”); concerning in practice (“a record of everything I’ve ever done”).
The 2024 controversy
The originally-announced Recall (May 2024) had serious design problems disclosed shortly after:
- Snapshots stored unencrypted by default
- Other apps / malware could read the database
- Sensitive content (passwords visible on screen, private banking pages) captured by default
- Off-switch was buried
- Microsoft’s security claims didn’t match the actual implementation
Security researchers (Kevin Beaumont, others) publicly demonstrated trivial extraction of all Recall data. Microsoft withdrew the original Recall, did not ship it as originally designed, and spent months redesigning it.
The redesigned Recall (current)
After the redesign and phased re-release in 2025-26:
- Off by default — must explicitly opt in during setup or later
- Encrypted at rest with hardware-backed keys (TPM + Pluton)
- Authentication required to open Recall — Windows Hello (face or fingerprint) every time
- Sensitive content filtered — passwords, financial info, InPrivate browsing automatically excluded
- App / website exclusion lists — block specific apps / sites from being captured
- Snapshot frequency configurable — every 5 seconds default; can pause / disable per session
- Data NEVER leaves device — Recall is purely on-device AI; nothing sent to Microsoft servers
- Delete on demand — wipe all Recall data anytime
The current Recall design is genuinely reasonable; the original was not. Be aware of this history when reading older Recall coverage.
What you’d use it for
- “I know I saw something…” — finding documents, websites, emails you can’t quite remember the source of
- Visual history of your work — across all apps
- Recovering from accidental closure — that tab you closed half an hour ago
- Audit of your own time — see where your day went
- Research workflow — rapidly find again something you skimmed
When NOT to use Recall:
- Shared / family PCs — anyone with access to your Windows login gets your Recall
- Sensitive work — even with filtering, errors happen; for highly confidential work consider disabling on those devices
- You don’t fully trust the on-device security — opt out is always reasonable
How to get it from Australia
- Have a Copilot+ PC — only available on Copilot+ certified hardware (Snapdragon X, Intel Core Ultra Series 2, AMD Ryzen AI 300 series with NPU)
- Run Windows 11 24H2 or later
- Settings → Privacy & security → Recall & snapshots
- Off by default — explicitly toggle on if you want to use
- Configure exclusions (apps / sites you don’t want captured)
- Windows Hello biometric setup required to access Recall
What it costs
- Free with Copilot+ PC — no separate subscription or licensing
- Copilot+ PCs themselves: from AUD 4,000+ (premium models)
How it compares to alternatives
| Capability | Microsoft Recall | Apple Spotlight / Live Activities | Rewind.ai | Mem / Reflect (note-taking) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OS-level integration | Best (Windows native) | Apple’s built-in equivalents | Third-party | App-level |
| Screen-snapshot AI search | Yes (the unique feature) | Limited | Yes (similar concept) | No |
| On-device-only | Yes | Yes | Yes (mostly) | Cloud-typically |
| Encryption + authentication | Strong (post-redesign) | Apple-system standard | Strong | App-dependent |
| Sensitive-content filtering | Yes (built-in) | N/A | Limited | N/A |
| Hardware requirement | Copilot+ PC | Modern Mac | Mac / Windows | Any |
| Pricing | Free | Free | Paid app | App-dependent |
Recall is conceptually similar to Rewind.ai (a paid Mac app that also screenshots and AI-searches) but built into Windows for free on eligible hardware.
Privacy / data handling
- Data NEVER leaves your PC — Recall is purely on-device AI; no cloud sync, no telemetry of Recall data to Microsoft
- Encrypted at rest with TPM-backed keys
- Authentication every access via Windows Hello
- Filters sensitive content — passwords, financial pages, InPrivate browsing
- Configurable exclusions for apps and websites
- Delete on demand — anytime
- Audit logs for when Recall data was accessed
For the redesigned Recall, the privacy posture is genuinely strong. For sensitive contexts, simply don’t enable it.
Recent changes
- 2026: Phased re-release continues; broader Copilot+ PC availability in AUS market
- 2025: Redesign completed; private preview re-launch
- 2024: Original Recall announced (May), withdrawn after security disclosures (June), redesign begun
- June 2024: Kevin Beaumont’s “Stealing everything you ever typed” demonstration
Gotchas
- Default-off is critical context — don’t assume Recall is on; you’d know if you turned it on
- 2024 articles reflect the withdrawn design — current Recall is meaningfully different from those reports
- Copilot+ PC requirement locks out older / non-NPU-equipped Windows machines
- Snapdragon X-based Copilot+ PCs (the original Copilot+ launch hardware) had some compatibility issues with Windows apps — verify your software compatibility
- AUS availability trails US — verify Recall availability in your region as it rolls out
- For Aussie users weighing Recall: the genuinely strong post-redesign privacy posture is real, but a shared / family PC remains the main concern
- If unsure, leave Recall off — you lose a feature, you keep your privacy
- Microsoft Office and major browsers handle InPrivate / Incognito properly with Recall; verify niche apps if you have specific privacy concerns
- Australian Privacy Act: Recall data is your data on your machine; Australian APP doesn’t impose direct obligations on you for personal use, but for business use of work-Copilot+ PCs, the org’s AI / monitoring policy applies
See also
- Microsoft Copilot 🟩 🟦
- Microsoft MAI 🟩 🟦
- Microsoft 365 Copilot 🟩 🟦
- Copilot+ PCs 🟥 — the hardware category Recall requires
- Apple Intelligence 🟩 🟦 — privacy comparison reference
- privacy-and-data-training.md 🟩 🟦
- Security & auth: secrets management đźź©