01 What Microsoft Recall is, and why Mac users keep searching for it
Recall is Microsoft's screen-memory feature for Copilot+ PCs: it takes snapshots of your screen, indexes what's in them, and lets you scroll back through your day. When it was announced, security researchers found the first version stored everything in a plain database that any process on the machine could read, and Microsoft pulled it, reworked it around Windows Hello and encryption, and made it opt-in.
Two things came out of that episode. The idea went mainstream — a lot of people now want a searchable memory of their screen. And the bar for doing it responsibly got set in public. Recall is Windows-only. Pixel Dust is the Mac version of the idea, built after the lesson was learned rather than before.
02 Side by side
| Pixel Dust | Microsoft Recall | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Any Mac on recent macOS | Copilot+ PCs only |
| Where snapshots live | Your Mac only | Your PC only |
| Storage format | Compressed stills + an encrypted index | Snapshots + a local index |
| Encrypted at rest | Opt-in; key in your Keychain and on paper, not with us | Yes, tied to Windows Hello |
| Unlock to view | Optional Touch ID | Windows Hello required |
| Tells you it's recording | Always. macOS shows the indicator and we never suppress it | Taskbar icon |
| Filters sensitive content | Apps, private windows, keywords, card and secret patterns | Apps, sites, sensitive-info detection |
| Who made it | A small company that only does this | Microsoft, as part of the OS |
| Price | Free during beta | Included with qualifying hardware |
03 What we took from the Recall episode
The original Recall failure was not the idea; it was storing a full record of someone's life with no more protection than any other file. Pixel Dust's answer is the same shape Microsoft eventually landed on, with one difference we think matters: the key is yours. It lives in your Keychain and on a recovery sheet you print during setup. We never receive it, so there is no support ticket that can recover it — and no support ticket that can be used to get at your history either.
We also decided not to fight the operating system. macOS shows a recording indicator whenever Pixel Dust is capturing. We do not try to hide it. If a screen-memory tool is running on your Mac, you should be able to tell by looking at the menu bar, and so should anyone sitting next to you.
04 Getting screen recall on a Mac
Install Pixel Dust, grant Screen Recording and Accessibility, and it starts building your history. Choose encryption during setup and print your recovery kit before you close the window — that is the one step we will not let you skip quietly. Then forget it is running until the day you need to find something.
Pixel Dust is free during the beta. Everything stays on your Mac.
Request beta access