How to Improve Recall Snapshots Filtering on Windows 11

This guide explains how to manage the “Help improve Recall snapshots filtering” feature in Windows 11.

What is Recall?

Recall & Snapshots is an AI tool in Windows 11 that acts like a photographic memory. It takes automatic screenshots of your screen so you can search through your activity later. Think of it as a diary of everything you do on your PC.

To use this, you must agree to save snapshots, which are visual records of your computer use.

When Recall is active, you can temporarily pause it, filter apps and websites, delete your snapshots, and manage your history.

How is your data kept safe?

Recall stores your snapshots locally on your computer. Your data is protected by Device Encryption or BitLocker, which is turned on by default.

When you use filtering, Windows 11 asks if you want to “Help improve Recall snapshots filtering.” This lets you anonymously share a list of the apps and sites you have blocked from Recall with Microsoft.

Why help improve Recall snapshots filtering?

By sharing this information, you help Microsoft learn which apps and websites people prefer to exclude. This helps make the AI tool smarter and more useful for everyone.

What happens when you are done?

Once you finish these steps, your preference for sharing anonymous filtering data will be saved. Microsoft will receive or stop receiving your exclusion list based on the setting you chose.

How to change this in Settings

Follow these steps to turn the feature on or off:

1. Open the Windows Settings app by clicking the Start menu and selecting Settings, or press the Windows key + I to open Settings app.
2. Click on Privacy & security in the left menu.

3. On the right side, click the Recall & snapshots tile to see its settings.
4. Turn on the “Save snapshots” feature.
5. Select the “Help improve Recall snapshots filtering” tile to see more options.
6. Toggle the switch to On or Off depending on your preference.

Close the Settings window when finished.

How to change this using the Windows Registry

Admin privileges required: You must be logged in as an administrator to edit the registry.

You can also use the Windows Registry editor to change this setting:

1. Open the Windows Registry and go to this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\A9SnapshotCapture
2. Right-click on the SnapshotCapture folder.
3. Select New, then select DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name the new file IsFilteringTelemetryEnabled.
5. Double-click IsFilteringTelemetryEnabled and set the value to 1 to turn it on, or 0 to turn it off.

Summary

The “Help improve Recall snapshots filtering” setting allows you to share anonymous data with Microsoft to improve how Recall works.

• What it does: It sends a list of apps and sites you blocked from being recorded to Microsoft.
• How to change it: You can use the Settings app or the Windows Registry.
• Your privacy: All snapshots stay on your device, and any data shared for improvement is anonymous.

Reference: Microsoft.com