# Recall, for a Mac.

Microsoft Recall is a Windows 11 feature for Copilot+ PCs; Earlyn is the closest thing on a Mac, a screen memory that runs on Apple Silicon and keeps everything on the device.

## Side by side

Recall facts from Microsoft's support article, read on 2 October 2026. An empty cell means we make no claim.

|  | Microsoft Recall | Earlyn |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Runs on | Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs | macOS 14 or later on Apple Silicon |
| Hardware | 40 TOPS NPU, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB storage | Any Apple Silicon Mac; developed on an 8 GB M2 |
| Turned on | Opt-in | Opt-in: recording stays off until you turn it on |
| Where snapshots are kept | On the device, encrypted | On the Mac, encrypted (SQLCipher and AES-GCM) |
| Unlocking | Windows Hello | Your macOS login; keys in the keychain |
| Free space needed | 50 GB to turn on; pauses under 25 GB | No minimum; about 9 MB per busy hour |
| Meetings |  | On-device transcripts, summaries and live translation |
| AI agents |  | Local MCP server for coding agents |

## When Recall is the better choice

If you work on a Copilot+ PC, Recall is built into Windows and needs nothing extra. Earlyn does not run on Windows.

## Sources

- [Microsoft Support: Retrace your steps with Recall](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/retrace-your-steps-with-recall-aa03f8a0-a78b-4b3e-b0a1-2eb8ac48701c), accessed 2026-10-02

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Canonical: https://www.earlyn.app/alternatives/microsoft-recall · Updated 2026-10-02
