How to Turn Off Windows 11 Recall

Windows 11 Recall takes a screenshot of your PC every few seconds. Here is what it does, why people are worried, and how to turn it off.

4 min read · 7 steps · Checked May 2026

1. Step 1. Check if your PC has Recall

   Recall only runs on Copilot+ PCs — these are laptops with a Snapdragon X, Intel Core Ultra (Series 2), or AMD Ryzen AI 300 chip. Most regular Windows 11 laptops do NOT have Recall. To check: Press the Windows key, type "Recall," and press Enter. If a Recall app opens, you have it. If Windows says "no results," you do not have it. And you do not need to do anything else.

   Quick Tip

   Quick Tip: If you do not have Recall, the rest of this guide does not apply. But you can still tighten Windows 11 privacy — see our guide on Windows 11 privacy settings worth reviewing.

2. Step 2. Open Recall settings

   Click the Start buttonSettingsPrivacy & SecurityRecall & Snapshots. (You can also press Windows + I to open Settings.) The Recall settings page shows whether Recall is on, what apps it captures, and how much storage it uses. Take a moment to look. If you have used the PC for a few weeks, you might see thousands of screenshots already saved.

3. Step 3. Pause or turn off Recall completely

   At the top of the Recall settings page, you will see a toggle for "Save snapshots." Slide it to Off. Windows will confirm you want to disable Recall — confirm yes. From this moment on, Recall will not take any new screenshots. The old screenshots are still saved on your PC, though — the next step deletes them.

   Warning

   If your PC is shared with someone else who relies on Recall, talk to them before turning it off. Their search history disappears too.

4. Step 4. Delete all existing Recall screenshots

   Still in SettingsPrivacy & SecurityRecall & Snapshots, scroll down to "Delete snapshots." You have three options: delete the last hour, last 24 hours, or all snapshots. Choose "Delete all snapshots." Windows will warn you this cannot be undone. Confirm. Within a few minutes, every screenshot Recall ever took is gone.

5. Step 5. Exclude private apps and websites

   If you want to leave Recall on but stop it from capturing your bank, email, or work apps, scroll to "Apps and websites to exclude from snapshots." Add: your banking app, browser windows showing online banking, password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass), tax software, and any work tools that contain confidential information. While in InPrivate/Incognito browsing, Recall automatically does not capture — but it does capture regular browsing.

   Quick Tip

   Quick Tip: Add Outlook, Gmail in browser, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Slack to the exclusion list. These often show information you would not want screenshotted.

6. Step 6. Turn off Recall in Windows Features (most thorough option)

   If you want to remove Recall entirely so it cannot be re-enabled accidentally: open Control PanelProgramsTurn Windows features on or off. Find "Recall" in the list. Uncheck it. Click OK. Windows will remove the feature and restart. To re-enable later, repeat and check the box.

7. Step 7. Check Recall settings after every Windows update

   Microsoft sometimes turns features back on after major updates. After any Windows feature update (the big yearly one), come back to SettingsPrivacy & SecurityRecall & Snapshots and confirm your settings are still what you want. A 30-second check every few months keeps things how you set them.