Anamika Dey, editor
By TechSun News Desk | October 23, 2026 | Tech / Privacy | 8 min read
Is Windows Recall safe? It depends on who you ask. Microsoft says the snapshots stay on your PC, are encrypted, and need Windows Hello to open. Security researchers say that malware already running on your account can still get at them. Both claims are on the record, and you can decide for yourself once you know what Recall saves and how to switch it off.
This guide uses Microsoft’s own Recall privacy page and the 2026 security reporting. It is written for Windows 11 users in the US. If your PC is not a Copilot+ PC, Recall is not on it, and there is nothing to turn off.
Quick answer: Recall is opt-in and only runs on Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft says snapshots stay on your device, are encrypted and are protected by Windows Hello. In April 2026, a security researcher reported that malware running under your own account can still extract them, which Microsoft disputes. If you share your PC, handle client data or never use the feature, turn it off. You can pause it, turn off saving, or remove it completely.
What Is Windows Recall?
Recall is a Windows 11 feature that takes a snapshot of your screen every few seconds and again when the content of the active window changes. It then makes those snapshots searchable, so you can type a description like “the spreadsheet with the blue chart” and jump back to it. The snapshots are screenshots, not a video recording.
It runs only on Copilot+ PCs, which are newer laptops with a dedicated AI chip. Microsoft says the processing happens on the device, and saving snapshots is opt-in. Windows asks for your permission first.
Do You Even Have Recall?
Many Windows 11 PCs do not. To check, press the Windows key and I to open Settings, go to Privacy & security, and look for Recall & snapshots. If that entry is missing, your PC is probably not a Copilot+ PC, or your Windows version does not include it, and you can stop here. Install any pending updates first, because the page can appear after an update.
What Does Recall Save?
With saving turned on, Recall keeps screenshots of what you do on your PC. That can include anything that appears on screen: emails, chat messages, documents, web pages and, depending on the filters you set, sites with account details on them. You can add apps and websites to a filter list so they are never saved, in the same Recall & snapshots page.
Microsoft’s current guidance, as shown on its support pages, says you can pause saving, filter apps and websites, and delete snapshots at any time.
What Protects Your Recall Snapshots?
Microsoft lists several protections:
- Saving snapshots is opt-in, and Windows asks your permission before it starts
- Snapshots are processed and stored on your PC, and Microsoft says it cannot access or view them
- They are encrypted, using Device Encryption or BitLocker, which Windows 11 turns on by default
- You must confirm your identity with Windows Hello before Recall opens and before you can see your snapshots
- Microsoft says snapshots are not used to train its AI on Copilot+ PCs
The details are on Microsoft’s pages for privacy and control over Recall. They describe what the company designed. They do not settle the question of what happens if someone else gains access to your account, which is where the security debate begins.
Is Windows Recall Safe? What Security Researchers Found
Recall’s first version was pulled in 2024 after researchers showed its data could be copied. Microsoft rebuilt it and released it to Copilot+ PC owners in April 2025. In April 2026, security researcher Alexander Hagenah argued that the rebuild still has a gap. According to CSO Online, he said malware running under a user’s own account can quietly copy everything Recall has captured, without admin rights or breaking the encryption. Independent researcher Kevin Beaumont reported a similar result after his own testing.
Microsoft reviewed the report and closed it on April 3. It told the researcher that the behavior is not a bypass of a security boundary and is not unauthorized access to data. In other words, Microsoft treats it as working as designed, while the researchers see a weakness.
GeekWire’s report adds that the University of Pennsylvania’s information security office urged administrators of its Windows systems to disable Recall.
Nobody has shown that Recall has been used against ordinary users, and the findings come from a proof-of-concept tool. The practical point is simpler. Recall’s protection depends on the rest of your PC being safe. If malware gets onto your account, or someone uses your unlocked PC, a searchable record of your screen is a bigger prize than a normal browsing history. Our guide to AI agent permissions and password security covers related account risks.
Who Should Turn Windows Recall Off?
Turn it off if you share your PC, handle client or medical records, or have never opened the Recall app. If you do use it and like it, you can keep it and use the filters instead, so that banking sites, password managers and messaging apps are never captured.
Either way, protect the account that unlocks everything. Use a strong, unique password and a password manager, as in our best password manager guide, and keep Windows Hello set up.
3 Ways to Turn Off Windows Recall
These options go from lightest to most thorough. The menu names below come from Microsoft’s pages and may differ slightly on your Windows build.
| Option | What it does | Saved snapshots |
|---|---|---|
| Pause | Stops saving for a while | Kept |
| Turn off Save snapshots | Stops all new saving until you switch it back on | Kept until you delete or reset them |
| Remove Recall | Uninstalls the feature | Delete or reset them first |
Option 1: Pause Recall
Microsoft says you can pause saving temporarily. Use this before a sensitive task, such as banking or handling someone else’s records. Look for the Recall icon in the taskbar’s system tray area and choose the pause option. Your existing snapshots stay where they are.
Option 2: Turn off Save snapshots, then delete what is saved
- Press the Windows key and I to open Settings.
- Go to Privacy & security, then Recall & snapshots.
- Turn Save snapshots to Off. Approve the Windows Hello prompt if it appears.
- On the same page, delete your saved snapshots, either all of them or a time range you choose.
- To start completely fresh, open Advanced settings and select Reset Recall.
Turning the toggle off stops new snapshots, but it does not remove old ones, so do not skip the delete step. Microsoft describes these controls on its page about how to retrace your steps with Recall.
Option 3: Remove Recall completely
Microsoft says you can remove Recall entirely through Windows’ optional features. You need an administrator account.
- Press the Windows key and R, type optionalfeatures.exe, and press Enter.
- Find Recall in the list and clear its checkbox.
- Click OK, let Windows finish, and restart your PC.
Removal is the most thorough choice. We could not confirm what happens to snapshots you have already saved, so delete them or use Reset Recall first (see Option 2), then remove the feature. If you change your mind later, tick the box again in the same window and restart.
On a work or school PC, your organization may control Recall. If a setting is greyed out or says your organization manages it, ask your IT team.
Is Windows Recall Safe? Your Questions Answered
Is Windows Recall on by default?
Saving snapshots is opt-in. Microsoft says Windows asks for your permission before it saves anything, and it lets you choose during setup on a new Copilot+ PC. Check Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots to see the current state on your own PC.
Can Microsoft see my Recall snapshots?
Microsoft says the snapshots are stored and processed on your device, are not sent to Microsoft, and that it cannot access or view them. The security debate is about malware on your own PC, not about Microsoft viewing the data.
Does turning Recall off delete my old snapshots?
No. Turning off Save snapshots stops new ones from being saved. Delete the existing snapshots on the same settings page or use Reset Recall, then remove the feature if you want it gone completely.
Check Your PC Now
Is Windows Recall safe enough for you? That is your call, but it takes two minutes to see what yours is doing. Open Settings, go to Privacy & security, and look at Recall & snapshots. Then tell us in the comments: do you use Recall, or did you turn it off the day you got your PC? If a setting on your screen does not match this guide, tell us which Windows version you have, and we will look into it.
If you also use AI chatbots, run the same check on them with our guides to whether ChatGPT is private and whether Google Gemini is private.
Last checked October 23, 2026 against Microsoft’s Recall support pages. Windows menus change between builds, so confirm the wording on your own screen.
