What does Recall store?
On compatible Copilot+ PCs, Windows Recall can create snapshots at regular intervals to help you later find content you previously saw on your screen. These records make it easier to return to a page you visited, a document you worked on, or an app you used. Because the same feature can also capture personal correspondence, customer information, or a sensitive document opened only temporarily, it must be configured deliberately.
According to Microsoft’s current description, saving snapshots is not enabled by default; the user chooses to turn the feature on. Records are stored locally on the device, encrypted, and protected by Windows Hello authentication when opening Recall or changing its settings. These are important safeguards, but they do not remove your responsibility to pay attention to what you display on the screen. Historical records may be valuable to someone who can access your computer using your account and biometrics, or to an attacker using your unlocked session.
First decide whether you really need it
You do not have to enable Recall simply because it is present on the computer. It may be useful if you often search for pages you previously viewed, lose context among many documents, and want to perform those searches through a local history. If you work with health, legal, financial, human resources, or customer support data, however, do not enable it without checking your organization’s policy. On a device managed by your employer, the organization’s information security and record-retention rules take precedence over personal preference.
Open Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots. Confirm the current status of the “Save snapshots” option. Leave it off if you do not intend to use Recall. If you want to try it, prepare the exclusion list before enabling it to reduce the likelihood of unwanted initial captures.
Plan app and website filters
Filter highly sensitive apps such as password managers, private messaging, accounting, electronic health, remote support, and internal administration tools. Excluding only a few websites in a browser may not be enough. Microsoft states that website filtering depends on supported browsers and the browser’s compatibility with Recall activity APIs. If you use an unsupported browser or are unsure which sites are being captured, filtering the entire browser app is a more predictable choice.
Verify your browser’s support status before relying on private or incognito windows to be filtered. Notification previews displayed in another part of the screen can also become part of the context. During a sensitive conversation, turning off notifications, limiting screen sharing, and temporarily pausing Recall provide layered protection.
Keep the “Filter sensitive information” option enabled. Microsoft says this setting helps prevent image capture when potentially sensitive data such as passwords or credit card numbers is detected. The important word is “helps”: detection is not flawless. A new type of identity document, a handwritten note, a specialized corporate interface, or an unusual payment page may not be recognized by the filter. Do not treat automated classification as your only security boundary.
The difference between pausing and turning it off
You can pause recording until the following day from the Recall icon in the system tray. This is useful in temporary situations such as an online therapy session, a banking transaction, preparing tax documents, or giving a confidential presentation. Remember that the pause may end automatically at a specific time. If you do not want recording for an extended period, turn snapshot saving off completely in Settings; do not assume it is permanently disabled simply because the icon displays a slash.
Make a habit of checking the status before starting a meeting. Review both the taskbar icon and the settings toggle. If you want to re-enable the feature after the meeting, do so deliberately. Relying on automatic resumption can result either in unnecessary captures or in the history you expected not being created.
Review and delete records
Open Recall search and sample recent records. If you see an unexpected app, private conversation, or sensitive website among the images, first stop new records from being created. Then add the relevant app or website to the filter list. Adding a filter alone does not mean that previously created images are automatically destroyed.
Microsoft provides controls for deleting snapshots from a specific period, individual results, or all records. An option may also be available to clear existing content associated with a specific app or website shown in search results. Before deleting anything, confirm that you have not selected the wrong date range. If Recall history must be retained as a business record, consult the appropriate person in your organization; cleanup that seems useful to an individual user may be inappropriate on a device subject to legal retention obligations.
Review the storage limit as well. When the allocated space is full, older snapshots may gradually be removed, but automatic rotation is not a substitute for a privacy plan. Set a monthly review date to inspect the exclusion list, the sensitive-information filter, storage usage, and random samples from recent history. Remember to add newly installed apps to the filter list.
Finally, do not share your Windows Hello PIN, configure a supported biometric sign-in method, and lock the screen whenever you step away from the computer. The fact that Recall data is local does not provide adequate protection on an unlocked computer with weak account security. The safest setting is not the same for everyone: the deciding factor is whether the convenience of retrieval is more valuable than the sensitivity of the stored screen history.
Research sources: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/retrace-your-steps-with-recall-aa03f8a0-a78b-4b3e-b0a1-2eb8ac48701c https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/privacy/privacy-and-control-over-your-recall-experience https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows/use-a-screen-reader-and-keyboard-to-navigate-privacy-settings-in-windows<figure class="article-inline-image"><img src="/api/media/019ffc1c-dfc8-79d1-97ef-fc57e1fae359?v=10544" alt="User preparing recording filters for sensitive apps on a laptop" width="1200" height="675" loading="lazy"></figure><figure class="article-inline-image"><img src="/api/media/019ffc1c-e02c-71b1-882c-7398a1c8eda9?v=9346" alt="Person clearing old screen-capture records from a computer for privacy" width="1200" height="675" loading="lazy"></figure>