Microsoft clarifies: Making Recall uninstallable was actually a bug

Update on September 3, 2024: Microsoft explained to The Verge that the option to uninstall Recall in a Windows Insider build wasn’t an intended feature but actually a bug. Microsoft never intended to offer this option, and the company plans to reverse it in an upcoming patch.

The instructions below will then no longer work. However, the question remains whether Microsoft will have to build in an option to completely disable Recall to comply with EU regulations. If so, this option may return but in a different form. Only time will tell.

Original report from August 30, 2024: In May of this year, Microsoft introduced Recall for Windows 11: an AI-powered feature that takes regular screenshots of your system, analyzes each one, and makes it easy for you to search through your entire history of activity to find stuff.

While there’s certainly practical merit to the idea, Recall was met with lots of backlash as some people highlighted the privacy ramifications and others speculated on the massive amount of data it would take.

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Even though Recall could technically be disabled, the backlash only grew louder and heavier — until Microsoft finally decided to delay the official launch of Recall and send it back into testing. (As of right now, Recall is only available to Windows Insiders.)

Now here’s the bit that nobody expected: Microsoft is going to let users completely uninstall Recall, not just disable it.

How to uninstall Recall

Starting with the optional KB5041865 preview build, it seems that Recall is going to be treated as a separate Windows feature that isn’t necessarily part of the core system. Microsoft hasn’t publicized this change, but apparently you can now uninstall Recall in the Control Panel.

Simply open Control Panel, then navigate to Programs, then click on Turn Windows features on or off. Scroll down to Windows Recall and uncheck the box next to it to remove it completely.

We expect Microsoft to make an announcement about this in the coming days or weeks, but for now it seems to be a ninja change that’s flying under the radar (and only caught by astute Windows Insiders).

Further reading: Why I refuse to give up Control Panel