I think Microsoft has gone a little too far by taking snapshots of your Windows 11 desktop, packaging it up, and sending it to them. Below I give some instructions on how to make that not happen.
Disable Through Settings
To disable Windows Recall, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots and toggle off ‘Recall’.
- Open Settings; Click the Start button, then click the Settings icon (gear icon).
- Navigate to Privacy & Security; Click on ‘Privacy & security’.
- Select Recall & Snapshots; Click on ‘Recall & snapshots’.
- Toggle off Recall; Toggle off the ‘Recall’ switch.
Through Turn Windows features on or off
Alternatively, you can use the “Turn Windows features on or off” option to uncheck Recall and restart your PC.
- Open Control Panel; Click the Start button, type ‘Control Panel’, and click on the result.
- Go to Programs > Programs and Features; Click on ‘Programs’ and then ‘Programs and Features’.
- Click on Turn Windows features on or off; Click on the link that says ‘Turn Windows features on or off’ on the left-hand side.
- Find and Uncheck Recall; Scroll down to find ‘Recall’ and uncheck the box next to it.
- Restart your PC; Click ‘OK’ and then restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
The DISM Tool
The Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool is a command-line tool that is used to modify Windows images. You can use DISM’s Features commands to enable or disable Windows features directly from the command prompt, or by applying an answer file to the image. You can enable or disable Windows features offline on a WIM or VHD file, or online on a running operating system.
Check Status: Dism /Online /Get-Featureinfo /Featurename:Recall
Disable: Dism /Online /Disable-Feature /Featurename:Recall
Enable: Dism /Online /Enable-Feature /Featurename:Recall
Now Microsoft is famous for changing things behind the scenes when a Windows update happens, so you will have to check on this every time Windows does an update. Of course the easier solution is not to use Microsoft in the first place, however, I know that may not be your choice. Hopefully this helps a little.
Bonus: