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Microsoft enabled the notorious "Recall" with the last update (for Windows 11 copilot+ enabled pcs only). It's part of the OS and can't be uninstalled. This software stores metadata about EVERYTHING that appears on your screen, including passwords/urls/images/videos/any messages you send or emails etc
To disable this gross spyware, run the following as admin on the command line:
Dism /Online /Disable-Feature
/Featurename:Recall
@ciaranmak For me, this reports that "Feature name Recall is unknown". I'm guessing that means I don't have it at all?
@aceade Yup, Windows 11 only feature I believe or you haven't yet updated 
@ciaranmak How fortunate that my PC isn't "capable" of running Windows 11. Oh noes, whatever shall I do?????
@aceade @ciaranmak
Microsoft is stopping it's (free) security updates for Windows 10 in October 2025.
So it's worth thinking about your options as that date approaches.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but Windows 11 is my least favoured option.
@Wagster @aceade @ciaranmak
If security updates were that important, we would have made Android illegal years ago.
@aceade @ciaranmak @Wagster There’s an extended support version of Windows 10 called Enterprise IoT LTSC. It’s supported until 2032.
@orkoden @aceade @ciaranmak
Do you need to be an "Enterprise user"?
I just have the usual Home licence.
@Wagster @aceade @ciaranmak you can use Windows 10 LTSC, it will be supported until 2038 I think
@Wagster @aceade @ciaranmak Presumably you can get some protection from security issues with a decent Internet Security package?
@Wagster @aceade @ciaranmak When Windows 7 stopped, some clever German people worked out which bit to twiddle to make it think you'd paid for extended security support. That got another three years. Even after that, it continued to get antivirus signature updates from MS. The deadline for Win10 may be softer than you think.
@Wagster @aceade @ciaranmak (if you flash win11 with rufus, you can bypass the hardware check. It can save a lot of computers that are 'too old'. Of course, you can also ditch windows completely but, not everyone want to do that.)
@aceade @ciaranmak you can escape the matrix and switch to linux, or just keep running win10. there are computers still alive out there on windows xp and vista, so i'm pretty sure you'll buy a new computer sooner than windows 10 becomes completely obsolete.
@caffeine @ciaranmak I already have a couple of other PCs running Linux Mint, so I was just taking the piss.
Maybe I should have added more 1s and exclamation marks into it 
@aceade @ciaranmak ah my bad i completely missed the context cues there lol
@ciaranmak
Was this Recall feature included in updates in the EU?
@ciaranmak There is a reason I switched fully to MacOS and Linux.
I wouldn't trust that actually disables it. It's probably still running in the background but the user can't see it.
@simplycorbett @ciaranmak
I'm considering a switch to Mac when the Windows 10 updates end in October 2025. However, is there any guarantee that Apple won't introduce a similar "feature" to Recall in a future update?
Sadly, programmes I need for work (Affinity suite) don't run on Linux.
@Wagster @simplycorbett @ciaranmak No, there is no guarantee. Use Linux if you want peace of mind. Does affinity suite work in wine or proton?
@simplycorbett @ciaranmak
Not particularly well in Wine apparently. I've never heard of Proton so I'll check out the Affinity forums and see what people have found.
@ciaranmak@mastodon.ie do you know if it is copilot+ PCs only or also other models?
@ciaranmak ability to search in your-action-history - on paper sound amazing.
@ciaranmak
¡Hasta software libre, siempre!
@ciaranmak But you can uninstall it and it's only available on Copilot+ PCs, not everywhere
@nelsonakis @ciaranmak that appears to be old info. Uninstalling recall seems to break Windows File Explorer.
Why Not Zoidberg? 
@ciaranmak Which update is this? When was it pushed?
...Oh they still say you need an AI enabled PC for it? That's why I haven't seen the update I guess?
Also why use the command line when you have the settings under "settings"?
@WhyNotZoidberg @ciaranmak Windows 11 24H2. I'm in Europe and the first PC I've seen with this update "only" has Copilot enabled.
@shgr @ciaranmak What I have been able to read up on is that it is now 100% opt IN, not opt out. Plus of course that you still have to have a computer manufactured 2023-2024, so you get the special chip or it won't even be in settings (only 90% sure of this part).
@shgr @WhyNotZoidberg @ciaranmak Are you in the Union and is Windows set as being in a member state? Or how are they toggling this?
@njsg @shgr @ciaranmak EU, and my settings are "Swedish local, with American English"
@ciaranmak Still wouldn't trust the OS even after doing that.
@ciaranmak With WinUtil I hope to delay 24H2 until 2027 so I can prepare to migrate to some form of Linux. Expecting to lose some software on the way but I guess that was bound to happen regardless.
My next machine is going to be an old machine with Linux installed. This is just ridiculous.
@ciaranmak Disabling Windows Recall might also be a good idea if you run Windows 11 in a Parallels Desktop VM on macOS. It integrates the operating systems quite deeply.
@ciaranmak isn't that how you uninstall it?
If it wasn't a servicing package (dism), then vendors and companies would have a much harder time excluding it from their images.
It would be more accurate to say that it's a Windows component that's enabled by default but can be removed by the owner of the system.
@ciaranmak to resolve it. You uninstall windows. And install Linux.
@ciaranmak wasn't recall only on copilot+ pcs?
@agatha yeah it is. @ciaranmak is just fearmongering - if not he/she should edit and clarify this.
