How to Configure Windows Recall Privacy Settings and Snapshot Filters in Windows 11

With the release of Copilot+ PCs in Windows 11, Microsoft introduced Recall, an AI-powered visual timeline that periodically captures encrypted snapshots of your active screen, indexation text with optical character recognition (OCR), and visual embeddings using the on-device NPU. This enables users to search for past documents, presentations, websites, and images using natural language prompts. Following privacy feedback from the cybersecurity community, Microsoft redesigned Recall with strict opt-in security: biometric Windows Hello authentication, protected process isolation, and granular privacy controls. Configuring snapshot retention, app exclusions, and sensitive content filtering ensures your personal data remains protected.

Architectural Security Controls in Windows Recall

Recall incorporates multi-layered defensive controls designed to protect personal snapshots from unauthorised access or local malware:

• Mandatory Opt-In: Recall is disabled by default during initial Windows setup and requires explicit user consent to activate.
• Windows Hello Biometric Gating: Opening Recall or searching the timeline requires continuous biometric verification via Face Unlock, Fingerprint, or PIN.
• Just-in-Time Decryption: Snapshots and search vector databases are encrypted with BitLocker and Virtualization-based Security (VBS) enclave keys, decrypting data only when authenticated.
• Automatic Sensitive Information Filtering: Credit card numbers, passwords, and government identification numbers are automatically detected and redacted from snapshot logs.
• Private Browsing Immunity: InPrivate browsing sessions in Microsoft Edge and incognito windows in supported third-party browsers are never recorded.

System Requirements

Windows Recall requires verified Copilot+ PC hardware:

1. Operating System: Windows 11 version 24H2 with current feature updates.
2. Processor: Copilot+ PC silicon equipped with a 40+ TOPS NPU (Snapdragon X Elite/Plus, Intel Core Ultra 200V, AMD Ryzen AI 300 series).
3. Security: BitLocker or Device Encryption enabled alongside Windows Hello.

Step 1: Accessing Recall Privacy Settings in Windows 11

To inspect and manage snapshot permissions:

1. Open the Settings app on your Windows 11 computer.
2. Navigate to Privacy & security in the left sidebar.
3. Select Recall & snapshots.
4. Authenticate using Windows Hello if prompted.

Step 2: Excluding Specific Applications from Snapshots

If you handle proprietary code, confidential client data, or personal financial software (like accounting tools or password managers), exclude those applications entirely:

1. In the Recall & snapshots settings panel, locate the section labelled Filter apps.
2. Click the button labelled Add app.
3. Scroll through the list of installed applications and select the programs you wish to blacklist (e.g. 1Password, Keepass, Slack, or Banking Apps).
4. Selected applications will appear in the filter list with a status showing Never captured.

Whenever these filtered apps are on screen, Recall pauses snapshot recording or masks the application window.

Step 3: Excluding Private Websites in Supported Browsers

Beyond InPrivate mode, you can prevent Recall from capturing specific domains (such as medical portals, payroll dashboards, or internal intranets):

1. Under the Filter websites header, click Add website.
2. Enter the target domain (e.g. payroll.company.com or mychart.org).
3. Click Add.

Supported browsers (including Microsoft Edge, Chrome, and Firefox) communicate URL context to the Recall engine, ensuring snapshots are skipped when navigating to these sites.

Step 4: Managing Storage Allocation and Deleting Past Snapshots

Recall allows users to cap the amount of hard drive space allocated to visual snapshots:

1. Under Storage allocation, inspect current disk usage.
2. Adjust the maximum capacity slider (default is typically 25 GB, which retains approximately 3 months of snapshots).
3. When the allocated threshold is reached, Recall automatically purges the oldest snapshots to accommodate new recordings.

Deleting Snapshot Backlogs Immediately

To purge historical recordings at any time:

• Click Delete all snapshots to completely wipe the SQLite database and image archives from your drive.
• Click Delete snapshots for time range to remove recordings from the past hour, past 24 hours, or past 7 days.

Pausing Recall from the System Tray

When entering an unscheduled sensitive meeting, you can pause snapshot collection without opening Settings:

1. Click the Recall icon in your Windows 11 taskbar notification area.
2. Select Pause until tomorrow.

A slash appears over the icon, confirming that screen capture is halted.