How to stop Windows Recall taking snapshots of your screen
Recall is the Windows 11 feature on Copilot+ PCs that saves a snapshot of your screen every few seconds, so you can scroll back through what you were doing and search it later. It stays off until you choose to turn it on, but once it's on it keeps recording until you stop it. This guide shows how to stop it saving snapshots, delete the ones it already has, and remove the feature from Windows altogether.
What you'll need: A Copilot+ PC running Windows 11. Recall doesn't exist on other PCs — if yours isn't a Copilot+ PC there's nothing to turn off, and the settings page in step 3 won't be there. Removing the feature in steps 6 to 8 needs an administrator account.
Open Settings
Hold down the Windows key and press I. The Settings window opens.
If you'd rather use the mouse, click the Start button, then click the Settings gear icon.
Click Privacy & security
In the list down the left-hand side, click Privacy & security.
Click Recall & snapshots
Near the top of the Privacy & security page, under Windows permissions, click Recall & snapshots.
Turn off Save snapshots
At the top of the page is a switch labelled Save snapshots. Click it so it reads Off.
Recall stops recording from that moment. The snapshots it has already saved stay on the disk until you delete them in the next step.
Delete the snapshots already stored
Further down the same page, find Delete snapshots. Pick a time range from the drop-down to delete only recent ones, or click Delete all to clear everything Recall has saved. Confirm when Windows asks.
Open Turn Windows features on or off
Turning off the switch is enough to stop the recording. If you'd rather Recall wasn't on the PC at all, carry on. Click Start and type:
Windows featuresClick Turn Windows features on or off in the results. A small window opens with a list of tickboxes.
Untick Recall
The list is alphabetical. Scroll to Recall, clear its tickbox, then click OK. Windows takes a moment to apply the change.
Restart the PC
Click Restart now when Windows asks. After the restart, Recall is gone: the Recall & snapshots page disappears from Settings, the Recall icon leaves the taskbar, and any snapshots that were still stored are deleted along with it.
Variations
Click the Recall icon in the system tray at the right-hand end of the taskbar (you may need to click the ^ arrow to see it), then click Pause until tomorrow. Recall stops saving snapshots and starts again the next day on its own. To resume sooner, click the icon again — Windows asks you to confirm with Windows Hello first.
On the Recall & snapshots page, scroll to Filter lists. Add any app or website there and Recall skips taking snapshots while it's on screen. Private browsing windows in Edge, Chrome, Firefox and Opera are skipped automatically.
On the same page, leave Filter sensitive information switched on. It tries to spot passwords, card numbers and ID numbers on screen and not record them. It won't catch everything, which is why the filter lists are there as well.
If you removed Recall in steps 6 to 8, open Turn Windows features on or off again, tick Recall, click OK and restart. Then go back to Settings › Privacy & security › Recall & snapshots and switch Save snapshots on. It starts with an empty history, and Windows requires Windows Hello to be set up before it will turn on.
Troubleshooting
Recall only ships on Copilot+ PCs — laptops sold from mid-2024 with a Snapdragon X, Intel Core Ultra 200V or AMD Ryzen AI 300 chip and the Copilot+ PC badge on the box. On any other PC the feature doesn't exist and there's nothing to turn off.
A work or school PC can have Recall locked by the organisation, and Settings shows a line near the top of the page saying so. Nothing on the PC itself will change it — ask whoever manages the device.
The icon stays as long as the feature is installed, even with saving switched off. It isn't recording. If you want it gone, remove Recall with steps 6 to 8.
It's already been removed, or this isn't a Copilot+ PC. Check Settings for the Recall & snapshots page: if that's missing too, there's nothing left to do.
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