Microsoft built a feature that photographs everything you look at and stores it forever.
Banking. Passwords. Private messages. None of it announced.
Here are 5 moves to shut it off tonight:
What Just Happened
It's called Recall, a feature on new Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft.
Recall takes screenshots of your screen every few seconds and creates a searchable history of what you've seen, including websites, chats, and documents.
Microsoft says it tries to hide sensitive data like passwords and card numbers, but some security researchers found cases where private information still appeared in saved screenshots.
Here's how to check if Recall is turned on and how to disable it if you don't want it tracking your activity.
1. Check If Recall Is On
This takes less than 30 seconds.
Go to: Settings → Privacy & Security → Recall & Snapshots
If you don't see it, you're probably fine. Recall only comes on Copilot+ PCs.
If you do see it, open it and check whether "Save snapshots" is turned on.
If it's on, Recall is saving screenshots of your activity. The next steps will help you turn it off and limit what it can save.
IF YOU DIED TOMORROW, YOUR FAMILY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ACCESS A SINGLE THING YOU OWN DIGITALLY.
BANK ACCOUNTS. PASSWORDS. CLOUD STORAGE. ALL OF IT PERMANENTLY LOCKED AWAY.
The conversation nobody has until it is already too late.
HERE'S HOW TO FIX IT IN 30 MINUTES:
1. iPhone users
Settings > your name > sign-in & security > legacy contact
Pick someone you trust. iPhone generates an access key tied to them.
If they ever need it, they can use that key plus a death certificate to access your iCloud: photos, files, email, notes. Everything.
Don’t set this up and your family could spend months fighting bureaucracy, with no guarantee they’ll get in.
2. Google accounts
Choose how long Google should wait before stepping in, then decide who gets access to what. Give one person Gmail, another Drive, another Photos. You control the split.
Google will check in with you first. If you don’t respond, access is granted automatically to the people you picked.myaccount.google.com/inactive