Recall is Back Again! Here’s How to (Hopefully) Permanently Banish It

Windows remembers, the assistant powered by AI who takes regular screenshots on your screen so you can ask him questions about the things you have done in the past, is back for good after (again) is recalled for confidentiality problems. Here’s how Windows 11 Pro users can deactivate it (AgainAnd this time, let’s hope, forever).

A Windows reminder reminder

Many have been written on the Windows Saga Reminder, but it is worth a quick summary: Microsoft announced that Windows 11 would start to take regular screenshots while you use your PC so that it can be treated by AI, so that you can ask questions and search for your previous activity.

Everyone fell by this obvious safety and confidentiality nightmare. It was then discovered that screenshots (which would include your use of private PCs, such as online banking services, personal conversations, etc.) were stored unacyed when an application could read them, justifying these concerns.

Microsoft then put the recall pending while he made some adjustments and tried again. Then he returned, and more problems were reported, and returning to the drawing board, they went. Now the recall is back in its supposed final form. Users can now opt for specific applications and websites to be saved, but it is almost certainly something that most will not know or that the trouble.

Although there is an option to deactivate the recall in the Windows Settings application (and even if “OFF” is now supposed to be the default value), some users are looking for a more permanent solution to ensure that it does not happen again, especially since Windows features have a strange habit of activating silently after system updates.

Of course, some people find this kind of thing useful and are not concerned about potential threats to their privacy. If you are one of this enviable group without care, you can ignore the rest of this article and have fun. Seriously, ignorance is happiness with regard to online confidentiality.

How to deactivate Windows reminder on Windows 11 Pro

The professional edition of Windows 11 allows you to access the local group policy publisher (business and education editions, but most people do not use them at home). This tool allows you to make configuration changes and changes to your Windows system beyond what is available in the configuration or settings panel application.

Now, this reminder is deployed for real this time, the group policy parameters are available to deactivate it completely and, hopefully, permanently. Given that the group policy is used by many corporate entities to control the way the data is used for reasons of compliance, this parameter is unlikely to be canceled by a future update.

So, here is how to deactivate Windows recall using the local group strategy: right -click the Start button, click Execute, enter the “GPEDIT.MSC” command, then press OK to start the local group strategy editor.

Then access user configuration> Administration models> Windows components> Windows AI in the navigation tree on the left.

Double-click the “Turn off the instant recording for use for use with the recall” to modify it, change its enabled value, then click OK to close the modification. Close the local group strategy editor and you are done. Bye.

If you are curious to know the impact of the modification of this parameter, you can read the official documentation of Microsoft.

Remember the bypass for home users of Windows 11

If you have not spent additional money for Windows 11 Pro, you can always make sure that the recall cannot work with some bypass solutions. You can deactivate biometric authentication or deactivate the encryption of peripherals and the Bitlocker, which are all system requirements for the recall to be operated.

To delete biometric authentication and deactivate Windows recall, open the Windows Settings application from the Start menu, then access accounts> Connection options. Select each biometric option, then click the “Delete” button.

Keep in mind that deactivating improved authentication methods and disk encryption could be a bad idea if you use a portable device or work in a shared environment where your Windows PC is not always 100% under your control.

Another option is simply not to upgrade your PC to meet the high requirements of the Windows Recall system, which is not so difficult.

Make windows safer, secure and private

If you want to make Windows 11 more private, here are 6 features to deactivate and 11 additional privacy settings to modify.

Your operating system is not the only thing to try to spy on you: spy software and malware is always prolific, and hackers and crooks find new ways to encourage you to give them access to your devices and accounts (or just steal your money).

Stay vigilant, use the best antivirus in class and follow best safety practices. You can also try Linux – sometimes you need a little technological know -how, but this gives you total control of your IT experience.