After an apparent back and forth on the issue, it looks like Microsoft will allow Copilot+ PC owners to uninstall the controversial Recall feature from their Windows 11 devices.
In fact, the choice to remove Recall was recently flagged up by keen-eyed observers of Windows 11 preview builds, but Microsoft was quick to clarify that this capability was in fact a mistake or bug of sorts.
Confusingly, it turns out that this wasn’t a mistake after all, and that as part of Microsoft’s announcement about Recall coming to Copilot+ PCs in November, the company noted that as well as the feature being strictly opt-in (rather than being on by default), it will also be fully removable.
Microsoft wrote that: “Users can also remove Recall entirely by using the optional features settings in Windows.”
Windows Central reports that Microsoft clarified that the option to remove Recall being a bug only referred to it mistakenly being included in the specific preview build it was spotted in – and that the company did not mean upcoming builds wouldn’t have the uninstall Recall choice. (Although for what it’s worth, Microsoft’s wording at the time hardly suggested this).
Recall removal – how to banish the AI-powered search for good
How do you remove Recall, then? Well, for those who have a Copilot+ PC – which are the only devices Recall will be on (at least initially) – you’ll find the option present in the ‘Turn Windows features on and off’ menu (locate that via the taskbar search box). And yes, that’s exactly where it was seen in testing.
Once you locate the ‘Recall’ ability in that menu you can uncheck it and click OK – your system will prompt for a reboot, after which Recall and all processes relating to it will be removed from your PC. That’ll go a long way towards pleasing those who are particularly paranoid about privacy, and don’t even want Recall on their system at all, even if it’s disabled.
Windows Recall, for those not familiar with it, is an upcoming AI-powered Windows 11 feature that takes regular snapshots (screenshots) of your device activity and makes these searchable.
When first revealed, Recall wasn’t received well at all, with both Windows 11 users and security experts alike quite rightly raising some major security and privacy concerns. That led to Microsoft putting the deployment of Recall on hold, and it’s only just recently revealed that the feature will be put back into testing next month – following a rollout to Copilot+ PCs in November, as mentioned (or that’s the current plan).
Microsoft has promised that it’s made some big changes to Recall, and outlined a host of various security and encryption-related improvements, which collectively represent a big stride forward to be fair to the company.
All in all, Microsoft appears to be giving users total control over Recall in terms of not just disabling it, but totally stripping the feature out of Windows 11. Especially given the frosty reception Recall has received so far, Microsoft has a lot to prove when it comes to how useful and helpful it is, and how secure Recall is when it comes to keeping user data safe.