Is Microsoft Recall available on Mac? No. Here's what to use instead
No. Microsoft Recall is a Windows 11 feature that runs only on Copilot+ PCs, and Microsoft has not shipped or announced a macOS version. On a Mac, the two tools that do the same job are Littlebird, a personal AI assistant that reads your active window and transcribes your meetings into a cloud-stored memory you can ask questions of, and Screenpipe, an open-source recorder that keeps screenshots and audio in a local database you run yourself. Rewind, the app most people remember, was shut down in December 2025. This guide explains what Recall does and compares the two Mac options plainly.
What is Microsoft Recall?
Recall is a feature of Windows 11 on Copilot+ PCs that takes periodic snapshots of your screen, stores them encrypted on the device, and lets you scroll back through a timeline or search for something you saw. Microsoft announced it in May 2024, delayed it after a privacy backlash, and made it generally available on April 25, 2025, as an opt-in feature protected by Windows Hello (Microsoft, verified September 2026).
The hardware requirement is the point that matters here. Recall needs a Copilot+ PC: a neural processing unit rated at 40 TOPS or more, 16 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage, and Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (Microsoft documentation, verified September 2026). It's not a Windows feature so much as a Copilot+ PC feature.
Why isn't Recall on Mac?
Because it's built into the operating system and the hardware. Recall runs its indexing on the PC's NPU and stores snapshots inside Windows' own security model. Microsoft ships a Microsoft 365 Copilot app for macOS, but that's a different product with no screen timeline. There's nothing to install on a Mac, and as of September 2026 Microsoft hasn't announced one.
Which leaves the question people actually mean: what does the job of Recall on a Mac?
What's the closest thing to Recall on a Mac?
Two tools, built on opposite philosophies. Littlebird is a managed assistant: it captures your work and answers questions from it, with the memory stored encrypted in the cloud. Screenpipe is a local recorder: it captures everything to your own disk, and you build the assistant on top. Here's how the three compare.
- Microsoft Recall. Platform: Windows 11 on Copilot+ PCs only. What it captures: Periodic screenshots of your screen. Where it lives: On the device, encrypted. Meetings? No. What you get: A scrollable, searchable timeline.
- Littlebird. Platform: Mac and Windows, with iOS and Android companions. What it captures: The text and elements of your active window, plus meeting transcripts; no video or screenshots. Where it lives: Encrypted in the AWS cloud (US East). Meetings? Yes, with no bot. What you get: Chat that answers from your work, drafts, and scheduled Routines.
- Screenpipe. Platform: Mac and Windows, Linux experimental. What it captures: Screenshots, accessibility trees, and audio, continuously. Where it lives: A local SQLite database. Meetings? Yes, audio transcription. What you get: Local search and an API for your own agents.
Littlebird: the assistant that already knows your work
Littlebird runs on your Mac and pays attention to the active window you're working in, reading the text and elements on screen through macOS accessibility permissions, every few seconds. It isn't a screen recorder: it takes no video and no screenshots, doesn't log keystrokes, auto-excludes password managers, and redacts card numbers and API keys before storage. During meetings it transcribes and summarizes with no bot joining the call.
The difference from Recall is what you do with the memory. Recall lets you find the thing you saw. Littlebird lets you ask what you decided, draft the follow-up from the call, and get a morning briefing from a Routine before you ask. It's an assistant with a memory rather than a memory with a search box.
The tradeoff is storage. Recall keeps everything on the device. Littlebird's memory is encrypted and stored in the AWS cloud, SOC 2 certified, with no training on your data and no selling of it, and you can pause capture, exclude apps and sites, and delete everything at any time. If local-only is your requirement, the next tool is the answer.
Screenpipe: local, open source, yours to run
Screenpipe, from a Y Combinator S26 company, records your screen and audio continuously, runs OCR and transcription, and indexes it all into a SQLite database on your machine, on macOS and Windows with Linux experimental. It's open source, has a free tier and paid plans, and you can connect ChatGPT, Claude, or a local model to query the data (Screenpipe on GitHub, verified September 2026). Of the three, it's the closest to Recall's on-device model, and it goes further by giving you the raw data and an API.
The tradeoff is that you're the operator. Setup, storage, and the assistant layer are yours to build and keep running. We don't claim privacy superiority over a genuinely local tool; the case for Littlebird is zero setup and a managed experience, not that.
What happened to Rewind?
Rewind was the Mac app that did this job first. Meta acquired its parent company, Limitless, on December 5, 2025, and the Rewind app's screen and audio capture was disabled on December 19, 2025 (9to5Mac, December 2025). If you came here from Rewind, we wrote a dedicated guide to the alternatives.
Should a Windows user pick Recall or Littlebird?
Both are honest answers, and they're different products. Recall is free with a Copilot+ PC, stays on the device, and gives you a timeline. Choose it when what you want is to find something you saw and you have the hardware. Littlebird runs on Windows too, doesn't need a Copilot+ PC, and adds meetings, drafting, and Routines on top of recall. Choose it when what you want is to ask, not scroll. Some people run both.
Common questions
Is Microsoft Recall available on Mac?
No. Recall is a Windows 11 feature exclusive to Copilot+ PCs, and Microsoft hasn't announced a macOS version as of September 2026. Microsoft 365 Copilot for Mac is a different product without a screen timeline.
What's the Mac equivalent of Microsoft Recall?
Littlebird, if you want an assistant that captures your work and answers questions from it, with the memory stored encrypted in the cloud. Screenpipe, if you want an open-source recorder that keeps everything in a local database you run yourself.
Does Littlebird take screenshots like Recall?
No. Littlebird reads the text and elements of your active window through accessibility permissions. It takes no video and no screenshots, doesn't log keystrokes, and auto-excludes password managers.
Is Recall coming to Mac?
Microsoft hasn't said so. Recall depends on Copilot+ hardware and Windows' own security model, and at Build 2026 Microsoft signaled future AI features would need Copilot+ hardware less, but said nothing about macOS.
Recall never came to Mac. This did.
An assistant that already knows your work, on Mac and Windows. Free Basic plan, no setup.
Recall requirements and availability verified September 3, 2026 against Microsoft's Recall documentation and Windows blog; Screenpipe against its public repository; the Rewind shutdown against 9to5Mac's December 2025 reporting. Product facts come from our maintained internal fact base.
