With the recent Windows 11 KB5058411 (OS Build 26100.4061), Microsoft finally rolled out the Windows Recall feature to Copilot+ PCs. It’s an AI-based feature that captures snapshots of your screen every few seconds when enabled. It’s like a photographic memory for you of the apps, websites, documents, and images you’ve seen on your PC, and quickly locate or revisit the content. Recall uses semantic AI-powered search and an explorable timeline to retrieve moments based on user-described clues. You can describe memory, like “a thin crust pizza recipe I saw last weekend” or “that slide with the blue graph from a presentation”—and Recall will analyze your stored snapshots to retrieve that exact moment.
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What is the Recall Feature?
Recall is an AI-powered feature that takes intelligent snapshots of your screen every few seconds while you’re using your device. These snapshots act as a visual timeline of your recent activity, and allow you to effortlessly rediscover apps, documents, websites, and images you’ve interacted with—even if you didn’t consciously save or bookmark them.
Unlike traditional search or browsing history, Recall uses semantic search and AI-powered context recognition to understand what you’re looking for. Whether you’re trying to find a recipe you saw earlier, revisit a PowerPoint presentation, or recall a news article, this feature allows you to “jump back in time” via a timeline interface or by simply describing what you remember.
System Requirements for Recall
Recall is exclusive to Copilot+ PCs that meet stringent hardware and security standards. You’ll need a Copilot+ PC with a minimum of 16GB RAM, 256GB storage (with 50GB free), and a neural processing unit (NPU) capable of at least 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS). It also requires that BitLocker or device encryption be enabled to protect the locally stored data.
- A Copilot+ PC that meets the Secured-core standard
- 40 TOPs NPU (neural processing unit)
- 16 GB RAM
- 8 logical processors
- 256 GB storage capacity, with at least 50 GB free to enable Recall. (Snapshots pause automatically if storage drops below 25 GB.)
- Device Encryption or BitLocker is enabled.
- Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security with at least one biometric sign-in option (face or fingerprint).
If you have a compatible device, after installing the May 2025 Windows 11 24H2 update, during the reboot and installation process, you’ll be asked if you want to try Recall, and there’ll be an option to opt in.
How to enable and start saving snapshots
By default, saving snapshots for Recall isn’t enabled. You need to manually enable it to start save snapshots and use the recall feature.
- Ensure your Copilot+ PC meets the system requirements and has Windows Hello set up.
- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Recall & Snapshots and toggle Save snapshots to On, or enable it when prompted upon launching Recall.
- Configure filters for apps, websites, and sensitive information as needed.
For organizations, IT admins can refer to Manage Recall documentation to configure policies for managed devices.
How to use the Recall feature
To open Recall, you can press Windows key + J, go to Start > All Apps and select Recall, or simply click the Recall icon on your taskbar.
Every time you open Recall or change its settings, it will ask you to verify your identity using Windows Hello, which could be your face, fingerprint, or PIN. This is done to make sure that only you can see or interact with your saved snapshots. Your data is encrypted and protected so it stays private and secure.
Once Recall is open, you’ll see a timeline of your recent activity. This timeline is made up of screen snapshots that Recall took while you were using your PC. You can move your mouse over the timeline to preview what was captured at each moment. If something looks familiar, you can click on that part of the timeline to open the full snapshot and interact with it.
If you’re trying to find something specific, you can use the search bar in Recall. For example, if you once saw a recipe for thin crust pizza, just type “thin crust pizza” in the search bar. Recall will look through your snapshots and show you matches. You can also just type “pizza” if you’re not sure, though this might bring up more results.
You can even search using your voice by clicking the microphone icon and speaking your search. Results are grouped into text matches (where the word appeared) and visual matches (where Recall saw related images).
When you find a snapshot you want to use again, just click on it. It will open with a feature called Click to Do, which lets you interact with the snapshot. For example, if the snapshot shows a picture, you can copy it, edit it, or open it in an app like Paint.
If there’s text, you can highlight it, copy it, or open it in Notepad. You’ll know Click to Do is active because your mouse pointer will change to a blue and white style. Click to Do will temporarily save content when you use an option that sends content to an app, such as Notepad or Paint. For more information, see Click to Do in Recall.
If you want to pause Recall from taking new snapshots, click the Recall icon in the system tray and select Pause until tomorrow. Snapshots will stop until midnight, and the icon will show a slash through it to remind you that it’s paused. To start again sooner, click the icon and choose Resume snapshots, but you’ll need to confirm with Windows Hello.
You can also choose to filter out apps or websites so Recall won’t save them. Just go to Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots. You can add apps or websites you don’t want recorded. If you use private browsing, it needs to be in a supported browser for the filter to work. There’s also a Sensitive Information Filter (enabled by default), which helps avoid saving things like passwords or credit card details.
If you want to delete or copy a snapshot, click the three dots (⋯) next to it. You can copy it, delete it, or even delete all snapshots from a specific website or app. After deleting, you can add that website or app to your filter list to prevent future snapshots.
To remove Recall completely, go to Turn Windows features on or off, uncheck Recall, and restart the PC. This deletes all previously saved snapshots. Re-enabling Recall requires the same process.
Recall is optimized for select languages, including English, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, and Spanish, with certain content-based and storage limitations. It is currently in preview, meaning Microsoft is actively refining the feature based on user feedback and performance.
For more details, visit Microsoft’s official support pages:
