Guide · Recall
How to disable Windows Recall
Recall takes regular snapshots of your screen so you can search what you have seen. It is the most talked-about Windows AI feature, and the one people most want gone. Win11Debloat switches it off in Default mode with four policy values. Here is what each one does according to Microsoft, whether you even have Recall, and how to turn off its sibling, Click to Do.
On this page 8 sections
Short answer
How do I turn off Recall in Windows 11?
- Do you have it? Recall only runs on Copilot+ PCs. On a work PC managed by an organization it is removed by default.
- Win11Debloat:
-DisableRecall, also part of Default mode. It blocks snapshots and tells Windows to remove Recall. - By hand on a Copilot+ PC: Settings → Privacy & security → Recall & snapshots, turn off saving snapshots and delete them.
- Restart afterwards: removing Recall needs one.
The command
& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm "https://debloat.raphi.re/"))) -DisableRecall -DisableClickToDo -SilentBoth need Windows 11 22H2 or later and are part of Default mode. Add -DisableAISvcAutoStart to stop the Windows AI service from starting with Windows, as Default mode also does.
Who has Recall at all
Microsoft lists “A Copilot+ PC that meets the Secured-core standard” as the minimum requirement. On other PCs there is nothing to turn off, and the tweak only writes policy values for the future. For the two kinds of Copilot+ PC, Microsoft says:
- Your own PC: “For unmanaged Copilot+ PC devices, Recall is available by default but a user has to opt in to save snapshots.”
- A work PC: “By default, Recall is disabled and removed on managed devices.”
Source: Microsoft Learn, Manage Recall and Policy CSP WindowsAI, read October 2026.
What -DisableRecall sets, value by value
These are the four values it wrote on our Windows 11 25H2 test PC. None existed before.
| Value | Set to | What Microsoft says it does |
|---|---|---|
AllowRecallEnablementwhole PC | 0 | “The Recall component will be in disabled state and the bits for Recall will be removed from the device. If snapshots were previously saved on the device, they'll be deleted when this policy is disabled. Removing Recall requires a device restart.” Windows 11 24H2 (26100.3915) and later. |
DisableAIDataAnalysisyour account and the whole PC | 1 | The “Turn off saving snapshots for use with Recall” policy: “snapshots won't be saved for use with Recall. If snapshots were previously saved on the device, they'll be deleted.” |
TurnOffSavingSnapshotswhole PC | 1 | Not a name in Microsoft's current policy list. The documented policy for this is DisableAIDataAnalysis above, so this value is likely left over from an earlier preview. It does no harm. |
Disable Windows Recall
This will disable Windows Recall, an AI-powered feature that provides quick access to recently used files, apps and activities. This feature uses policies, which will lock down certain settings.
Tested alone on Windows 11 25H2 (build 26200.9711): changed 4 registry values.
Importing the undo file put all 4 back exactly as before.
What changed
DisableAIDataAnalysisHKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI | not set→1 |
DisableAIDataAnalysisHKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI | not set→1 |
AllowRecallEnablementHKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI | not set→0 |
TurnOffSavingSnapshotsHKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI | not set→1 |
Registry changes 4 values · HKCU + HKLM
Regfiles/Disable_AI_Recall.regsource| Key | Value | Data |
|---|---|---|
| HKCUSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | DisableAIDataAnalysis | DWORD1 0x00000001 |
| HKLMSOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | DisableAIDataAnalysis | DWORD1 0x00000001 |
| HKLMSOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | AllowRecallEnablement | DWORD0 0x00000000 |
| HKLMSOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | TurnOffSavingSnapshots | DWORD1 0x00000001 |
Undo file: Regfiles/Undo/Enable_AI_Recall.reg (“Enable Windows Recall”)
Regfiles/Undo/Enable_AI_Recall.regsource| Key | Value | Data |
|---|---|---|
| HKLMSOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\default\WindowsAI\DisableAIDataAnalysis | value | DWORD0 0x00000000 |
| HKCUSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | DisableAIDataAnalysis | —deleted |
| HKLMSOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | DisableAIDataAnalysis | —deleted |
| HKLMSOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | AllowRecallEnablement | —deleted |
| HKLMSOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | TurnOffSavingSnapshots | —deleted |
Click to Do
Click to Do is the Copilot+ PC feature that lets you act on whatever is on screen, for example by holding Win and clicking text or an image. -DisableClickToDo sets one policy, DisableClickToDo = 1, for your account and the whole PC. Microsoft says that with it, “the Click to Do component and entry points won't be available to users.”
Two details from Microsoft's documentation. Its policy page lists this policy for Windows Insider builds. And “The policy to manage Click to Do doesn't affect Click to Do in Recall”, which is one more reason to disable Recall too.
Disable Click To Do, AI text & image analysis
This will disable Click To Do, which provides AI-powered text and image analysis features in Windows. This feature uses policies, which will lock down certain settings.
Tested alone on Windows 11 25H2 (build 26200.9711): changed 2 registry values.
Importing the undo file put both back exactly as before.
What changed
DisableClickToDoHKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI | not set→1 |
DisableClickToDoHKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAI | not set→1 |
Registry changes 2 values · HKCU + HKLM
Regfiles/Disable_Click_to_Do.regsource| Key | Value | Data |
|---|---|---|
| HKCUSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | DisableClickToDo | DWORD1 0x00000001 |
| HKLMSOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | DisableClickToDo | DWORD1 0x00000001 |
Undo file: Regfiles/Undo/Enable_Click_to_Do.reg (“Enable Click To Do, AI text & image analysis”)
Regfiles/Undo/Enable_Click_to_Do.regsource| Key | Value | Data |
|---|---|---|
| HKCUSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | DisableClickToDo | —deleted |
| HKLMSOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAIpolicy | DisableClickToDo | —deleted |
The Windows AI service
-DisableAISvcAutoStart sets the WSAIFabricSvc service to start only when something needs it, instead of with Windows. On our test PC it went from Automatic to Manual, and it was the only service Default mode changed. Windows can still start it on demand, so AI features that you keep keep working.
What we saw
On our Windows 11 Enterprise 25H2 test PC, Default mode wrote all four Recall values, both Click to Do values and the service change, with no errors. The test PC is not a Copilot+ PC, so it had no Recall to remove. We cannot show a before-and-after of Recall itself. Full test results.
Turning Recall back on
Untick Disable Windows Recall in Win11Debloat's wizard, or import Regfiles\Undo\Enable_AI_Recall.reg. The undo file deletes the policy values, and it also sets HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\default\WindowsAI\DisableAIDataAnalysis back to 0. If Recall's components were removed, they come back through Windows features. Microsoft documents Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "Recall" for that. Snapshots deleted by the policy cannot be recovered. More on undoing.
Questions
Is Windows Recall on by default?
On a personal Copilot+ PC, Recall is available, but it only saves snapshots after you opt in. On work PCs managed by an organization it is removed by default. On any other PC it does not exist.
Does disabling Recall delete my snapshots?
Yes. According to Microsoft, both AllowRecallEnablement = 0 and the snapshot policy delete snapshots that were already saved.
Will I see “managed by your organization” after disabling Recall?
Probably, on the Recall settings page, because the tweak uses policies. That is expected. Why.
Can I uninstall Recall completely?
Yes. Microsoft documents Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "Recall" -Remove in an administrator PowerShell, and AllowRecallEnablement = 0, which Win11Debloat sets, also removes it after a restart.
Keep going
Something wrong or out of date? Email hello@win11debloat.dev and we will fix it.