How to disable Microsoft Recall & stop the AI from taking screenshots of your desktop.

Just switch to Linux.

This is like saying "put some salve on the wrists where the shackles are binding you". For fucks sake just walk away from the abusive computing relationship.

Step one: install Linux

Many years ago, when I was repairing computers for a living, spyware like this was highly frowned upon.

I haven't touched Windows in a few years, but I'm still somewhat saddened to see how normalized this has become. Why did society stop valuing privacy?

I've used Shutup10 on my Windows partitions for years. Surprised I didn't see it mentioned here.

Good control over copilot and any other Wndows nastiness.

Run it after every Windows update. MS loves sneakily re-enabling some settings.

Why would anybody want this?

Because! You can basically bend over and expose your anus to all, just in that rare event it might be slightly more convenient to remember what you did that other day.
Totally worth it!!!
🙄

Setting up a laptop for a nephew, gonna remember this tomorrow.

Step 1: Install Linux.

Arch btw.

I have better things to do than spend hours trying to do simple things like permanent mounting of a network drive.
I wish it were that easy. I'm pretty tech literate and I've had Linux installed on and off since the late 1990's. I'm running fedora desktop on a dual boot machine that also has windows 10. The PC will run windows 11 but just like everyone else I'm not excited to upgrade.
But I still have to hop over to windows to do things. I know it's a chicken and egg thing, but Linux just needs to get over the hump if ease of use and app availability.
Having to switch from. App1 to app1 that boat do say, CAD, is hard. It's a learning curve. And add that learning curve into also switching to Linux and it's overwhelming.
I actually got my dad on fedora, and he went all in and set it up, and worked quite diligently to get everything working for how he used his computer. He did this because his PC was fine but not windows 11 compatible. End the end there were just too many things that he struggled with and he broke down and bought a new PC that came with 11. One of the big issues he had was with documents. Syncing documents that he was editing.
He was OK relearning a new Libre Office but it was syncing it back to a Google drive or something that ultimately did not work for him. (I can't remember exactly what he was doing).
He ran with Fedora for a couple months before giving up
- Getting certain Windows apps to run on Linux is still impossible, unfortunately.
  What I don’t understand is that file syncing is well supported. While I would never condone using a Google product, Celeste and Insync both support Google Drive. Aside from those, Dropbox has a native Linux package, and a self-hosted NAS is always a sound investment.
- I highly recommend using an old laptop and keeping the windows machine. This allows you to fully use the linux laptop as your not booting back and forth. Further with these type of issues a "bleeding edge" distro like fedora is not ideal. My recommendation has always been zorin for a set it and forget it distro. Its an ubuntu spin that uses the stable release and tends to be a bit late even on that (which is most peoples complaint about it) but it is good at being stable and having everything you need out of box as well as emulating a basic windows feel.
- I run a W10 LTSC VM on both my laptop and desktop for this purpose. I refuse to use Windows on bare metal, but I also understand that some software simply does not exist (nor functions under Wine) on Linux. Things like Adobe Acrobat, which I need for legal things from my lawyer for custody stuff, some vehicle diagnostic software, and software for my fucking labelmaker (Brother PT-D600, broken screen, will fix or replace eventually).
Doctors hate this one simple trick!
Just installed cachy on my partners PC. They just play games, I handle the maintenance.
So far they are impressed at how quick it feels and how fast and unintrusive the system updates are.
- Love to hear these success stories and positive impressions and good vibes. Hope it lasts! 🥰
Step 412: realize that there is no REAL alternative to Excel.
- Then you are probably using Excel for the wrong thing
- LibreOffice Calc isn't good enough? I rarely use it so I have no idea.
- you can make do for office apps. try graphic design.
- What features of Excel do you use that warrants exclusivity? I'm genuinely curious.
My favorites PoPOS. And learning linux can lead to a good paying job.

Setting aside for the moment that it is a much better idea to just stop using windows. One of Microsofts arguments for why you shouldn't continue using Windows 10 is because it will stop being updated and will soon be insecure and get inundated with malware, adware, spyware ect. But Windows 11 already comes preinstalled with all of that so what difference does it make?

You're delusional if you think Microsoft's preinstalled crap is at all comparable to what hackers will do with a vulnerable PC.
Also this feature in particular is only for AI PCs which your Win10 PC probably won't upgrade to.

Watching Windows gets worse and worse is a lot more fun when you don't have to use it. I use Mint btw.

Fun for us. Not so fun for people who have to use it.
It is sad to see the mental gymnastics people do to justify their inertia.
"It's opt-in!"
"You can disable feature X easily by editing the registry"
"You can install this tool from a shifty site to restore that feature MS disabled"
The emails you write to people who use Windows are not private anymore too
- Emails you write to literally anyone are no longer private the moment it leaves your outbox.
- Unless you used PGP or something, emails were never "private" in any meaningful sense of the word.
- @knatschus @SaharaMaleikuhm This is an interesting take. I hope that Email Clients which supports GPG ( none Microsoft Products ) will also deny recall from function like brave does by default - https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/23/brave/_browse/_block/_microsoft/_recall/
  It would also be a interesting question if under GDPR companies need to tell you that they might have shared your emails with Microsoft because they enabled Recall ( if they so do ) ...
  So many questions ....
LMDE here. No ragrets. Mint features, Debian stability, and none of the Canonical weirdness.
- I really liked LMDE. I eventually moved to arch though because I'm a tinkerer at heart. If I need stability without constant updates though, a Debian based distro is my go-to. LMDE for a desktop, or just straight up Debian with no thrills for a server.
Debian Rolling here. Have used different distros and I dont judge anyone who wants to use Linux. Glad you made the switch.

Watch as the Linux drones swarm in to drown out people seeking actual answers.

To be fair, removing the entire OS does disable this feature
- And easier
The one thing keeping me from going all-in on Linux is the users being insufferable.
- "I won't use this thing, because fans of this thing are annoying." The willingness of people to cut off their nose to spite their face never fails to amaze me.
- You can just use linux. You don't have to hang out with them.
- You're seeing insufferable people who also happen to use Linux, as insufferable people also like to be early adopters so they can say they are different and therefore better.
  There are plenty of super helpful people in the community, and Linux is well past the early adopter phase. The transition from Windows is smoother than it has ever been.
- Yes, a lot of Linux users are insufferable, but there are also people willing to help in a nice and normal manner ...
- I think the Doctor Who fanbase is the actual worst out of all fanbases but I still like watching the show. you don't have to participate in the community if you want to use something. I use Linux but I'm not wearing thigh high socks and sitting in the Arch discord all day.
Came here for the "use Linux" comments. Like clockwork. To be fair: I'm guilty of it too.

Visit LinuxMint.com
Press download

I don't see that button my keyboard /s

For the folks saying install Linux keep in mind you can indirectly be captured by this feature.

For example if you’re playing an online video game you’ll be captured or your chat messages in your messaging app.

Of course, the idea is that there's less risk of that the more people switch.
- You can't convince 99% of windows users to switch, the real solution is done via legislation. The force of a government is more powerful any boycotts you can muster. (For example: European Union has been passing a regulations on right to repair, do privacy laws next)
That's pretty easily avoidable, too. Don't play online games, or talk to people. That's what I do.
- And Linux will actively help you avoid doing both of those things.

By stop using Windows ???

“How to disable this opt in feature”: “don’t turn it on”

I get that Lemmy is a bastion for M$ hate but FUD articles get annoying.

Microsoft's idea of consent:
Do you want to turn on Recall?
Yes
Maybe Later
- I had a rough morning and your comment made it worst.
It won't be just opt-in for very long.
Also it's only for AI Windows which requires an AI chip. Considering how anti-AI the fediverse is, I doubt any of the people here would be getting AI Windows in the first place. It's a non-issue for the users here already from the get-go at the requirements.

My first thought seeing this headline was "who cares I'm using Linux anyway" ... My second thought was "Well I'm probably gonna start working in a mixed environment again soon and I'll be the one who'll have to disable Recall for the Users ... So good to know

Install Linux

"Just install Li-" Can y'all just shut the fuck up about Linux for five minutes?

But it’s the solution to so many Microsoft “features”
- If i ask "how do i change the oil filter on my insert car model here" and you answer "get an electric car" i'm gonna think you're annoying and a bit of an asshole, especially if you keep doing it over and over on every similar question. It's not a "solution" that interests anyone when they ask that kind of question. Fuck off.
No.
let me think about this one... mmmm, no

Let me guess... systemctl stop recall ?

Not for long, systemd is built by Microsoft employee.

Does the prnhub trick still work? Recall detecting nudity on the screen and stop capturing.

So just putting as background one random nude pic do the job ?
I was hoping that they learned something from the time the protection on audio CDs was just that they were not read from the PC because the first track had invalid data (while it was ignored by a stereo) was defeat by a simple marker, which make the PC just ignore the track... I think I still have one of this CD somewhere...
- Nah, the background isn’t visible at all times. Need one of those desktop strippers that would walk-in over the system tray and start dancing naked in the corner of your screen.
- It might do.
  But I won't test it. I would have to start Windows 11.

I seem to remember the feature was opt-in, right?

I'd check, but this hasn't made it to my Copilot+ PC, despite all the fuss.

Microsoft style opt-in probably. You can choose between Yes and Later
- And no matter what you choose, they'll silently enable it next month
- Not how it's worked with the rest of these features, for the record. I did get click-to-do, which is activated by default (but does nothing unless you trigger it manually). That's just an entry in their increasingly large wall of "stuff you don't want switches" in the Settings.
  It's immensely wasteful in terms of dev time, but at the same time, hey, kudos for having all this stuff centralized in the one list, unwieldy as it's getting (at least there's a search in there).
  I wish we could talk like adults about these things over here, because there's a ton of interesting nuance to how Windows 11 actually works, rather than the parody version that everybody loves to dunk on. There are some actually good features and choices I'd like to see make the jump to Linux and vice versa, even discounting things like hardware or software support. But nobody ever wants to have that conversation, it's all just the dopamine hit chase from rooting for the home team (and/or being contrarian about it).
I was wondering why my gaming PC didn't get the update yet... but then I remembered I installed the EU version of Windows on it... HA!
- Microsoft is bringing an update to Copilot Vision for Windows Insiders
  Unless you’re in the windows insider program nobody should have this feature yet.

Such a stupid feature

I'm curious on what features does Windows have other other OSes. Just gaming? Music and video editing can be on MacOS. Linux can do everything else.

Usability.
Windows and Mac are both easier to use for the standard user.
I'm a technical person and even I struggle with what/how the hell I'm supposed to even install applications on Linux:
Should I download the binaries? Should I use snap/flatpak/etc? If I do one vs the other which is more up to date? If I can't find it in the software store can I trust random online sites?
And that's just finding applications. Most people don't have hours of free time to read forums to understand how to fix something that broke (assuming the distro they choose even has a thread relating to the issue).
- Windows is a marketing and spying platform. It is targeted by any and every scammer, hacker, used for harvesting your data by programs you install. It is sold as an "easy to use" computer - most ppl don't even know what an OS is - until 6 months later when the CPU is at 100% and you don't know why, the hard drive is filling up and you no longer know if your files are local or in "the cloud". I service older computers for friends and family on a regular basis. Half of them now have Ubuntu installed on old laptops and it's an eye opener for them. Because most people don't install new apps. They just want to browse, read emails, open documents, watch movies and listen to music. If you avoid snap and flatpak and install with APT or just download an AppImage you're going to be ok.
- Wait, this seems completely backwards.
  Windows: Here is some forum post to some rando's software. SomeShit.exe. Should I install it?
  As opposed to Linux: I look in the category of the software I am interested in, click install.
  And as far as breaking... I use linux because it doesn't break. I don't have time for windows bullshit.
- Usability.
  Windows and Mac are both easier to use for the standard user.
  Not at all true anymore for Windoze. Windows 7 was the last installment where that was true. Linux distributions are consistent. Once shown how the basics works, e.g., apt install or pacman -S and the general whereabouts of settings or software, it's super easy to get them going, indefinitely. Even troubleshooting is within reach because searching the settings isn't a maze within a maze (except for Gnome sometimes). Windoze keeps changing shit constantly, reinstalls uninstalled software, search algorithm is horrible and has Bing search results within the menu enabled by default [the fuck?], updates don't indicate how long they'll last, setting a default program often requires configuring it manually for every file extension, oh goddamn fuckers I have to stop typing because Microsoft pisses me off so bad.
  Tabula rasa, if I had to teach a 70-year-old who's never touched a computer before, to do so, I'd pick Linux every time. Consistency and customization is key. Microsoft makes their users dumb by an illusion of convenience which shatters the instant something goes wrong, like riding a bike with helper wheels that constantly fail. Linux does none of that. It empowers users quite quickly by simply learning how to ride a bike properly. Sure, you fall every so often at the start, but that made mastery that much more satisfying.
- I’m a technical person and even I struggle with what/how the hell I’m supposed to even install applications on Linux:
  On my distro it's 1) Open App Store 2) Search for Software 3) hit "install".
  Should I download the binaries? Should I use snap/flatpak/etc?
  That's a matter of personal preference, but once you understand the difference, which is really not that complex, then the choice should be practically automatic.
  If I do one vs the other which is more up to date?
  You can check the version number.
  If I can’t find it in the software store can I trust random online sites?
  You have the same issue in Windows.
- Windows and Mac are both easier to use for the standard user.
  I really doubt that a standard user would have that much problems to do his work with the normal programs (an office suite, a browsere a little else) once Linux with a DE (let be KDE, GNOME or whatever) is installed.
  The limitation is not the disto itself, it is the lack of support for some software (like Grasshooper or CAD)
I recognize it may be a pretty niche issue, but i still haven't found a Linux app that i can build Monte Carlo simulation models with, though I think some of the developers of these types of apps have made MacOS ports. The ones that I've historically used are Excel add-ons, but i haven't found anything similar yet for Libre Office, or stand alone app.
- I would think you would want to do that in python anyways, regardless of the OS. I suppose it might be relative to what you want to do, there are several monte carlo applications for linux but they are focused on certain fields. Whats yours?
Very little gaming still requires Windows since the development of Proton. The main compatibility problems that remain seem to involve kernel-invasive anti-cheat systems.
Adoption.
MacOS doesn't run on my hardware, but yeah editing software and CAD software are the reasons I'm on Windows still.
Technically Davinci Resolve does run on Linux, but it's not always stable and lacks certain codec support.
I haven't found a good replacement for lightroom yet, darktable is too complex for me, and rawtherapee doesn't really manage my library well but is an OK RAW editor.
- yup. Digital cinema / mastering here and most of our kit is still windows because linux just doesn't support the software. The previous suggestion of "JuSt uSe a MaC" can get in the bin for multiple reasons.