Key Takeaways
- This policy helps to control how long recall snapshots are saved
- Automatically deletes old snapshots after a set time
- Setting the duration short increases privacy
- Prevents from consuming excess disk space
- Supports both User and Device scope deployment through Intune
Hey, let’s learn about how to set maximum storage duration for recall snapshots on Windows 11. This policy setting allows you to control the maximum number of days that Windows saves snapshots for recall. Recall continuously captures snapshots of user activity. This policy helps to set a time limit for storing those snapshots. When the limit is reached, old snapshots are deleted automatically.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What are the Advantages of this Policy
It controls how long(in days) Windows Recall keeps snapshots before automatically deleting them. This policy helps to:
1. Limits how long snapshots occupy storage.
2. Reduces unnecessary storage usage.
3. Automatically deletes old snapshots.
How to Set Maximum Storage Duration for Recall Snapshots on Windows 11 using Intune
This policy setting allows you to control the maximum amount of time (in days) that Windows saves snapshots for Recall. If both maximum storage duration and maximum storage space are set for Recall, then snapshots are deleted when the first maximum is reached.
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How to Create a Policy
First, you need to configure this policy. Start by signing in to the Microsoft Intune Admin Center. Then, click on Devices. Under the Devices section, go to the Configuration tab, where you will find a Create option. Click on it and select New policy.
Profile Creation in a Policy
This is the next step you need to take for policy Creation. When creating a profile, you must select the platform and profile type. Here, I would like to configure the policy for Windows 10 and later platforms and the Settings catalog profile. Then click on the Create button.
Basics Tab for Name and Description
Naming the policy is the primary step that helps admins to identify the policy later. This is an important and necessary step that allows you to know the purpose of the policy. Here, Name is mandatory and description is optional. After adding this click on the Next button.
How to Configure this Policy
On this configuration tab, click on add settings to open the settings picker. In the settings picker, you can see numerous policy settings Here, I selected the policy by browsing the policy name (set maximum storage duration for recall snapshots), then you can see its category search, select the category and enable the policy setting.
Default setting in this policy
When this policy isn’t configured, the maximum storage duration is 90 days unless the current user specifies a different value. You can change the number of days to 30, 60 or 80. If you wish to continue with 90 days, click Next.
Enabling this Policy
When the policy is enabled, you can configure the maximum storage duration to be 30, 60, 90, or 180 days. Here, I selected 30 days. This helps improve privacy, reduce storage usage, and ensures that user activity data is not retained for a long period.
| Storage Duration | Feature |
|---|---|
| 30 Days | Minimises storage usage and improves privacy by keeping snapshots for a shorter period of 30 days |
| 60 Days | Provides a moderate snapshot history for 60 days. |
| 90 Days | Keeps the screenshots for a long term of 90 days |
| 180 Days | Stores snapshots for extended periods, about 180 days. |
| Let the OS define the maximum amount of time the snapshots will be saved | Allows Windows to automatically manage the maximum snapshot storage duration based on system settings and storage availability. |
Scope Tags in this Policy
A scope tag in Intune is used to control visibility and access to Intune resources based on administrative roles. Scope tags are not mandatory. You can add the scope tag using the select scope tags button. Click Next to continue.
Assignments Tab to Add Group
On the assignments tab, you can select which users or devices get this policy. Under Include Groups, click Add Groups. From the list, select the group that you want to target (HTMD – Test Policy). Then click the Next button to continue
Finalising the Policy
At the review + create step, you can review each tab to avoid misconfiguration or policy failure. After reviewing the details and making any necessary changes by clicking Previous. We click Create to finish, and a notification confirms that the set maximum storage duration for recall snapshots has been created successfully.
Monitoring the Status of the Policy
You can check a policy’s status in the Intune portal. Generally, it takes 8 hours for policies to be created. By using the manual sync option, you can reduce the configuration delay in the company portal app on the device, then check the status again. Navigate to Devices > Configuration. Click on the specific policy to see its details.
Client-Side Verification
To confirm if a policy has been applied, use the Event Viewer on the client device. Go to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft >Windows >Device Management > Enterprise Diagnostic Provider > Admin. From the list of policies, use the Filter Current Log option and search for Intune event 813.
MDM PolicyManager: Set policy int, Policy: (SetMaximumStorageDurationForRecallSnapshots),
Area: (WindowsAl), EnrollmentID requesting merge: (EB427D85-802F-46D9-A3E2-D5B414587F63),
Current User: (Device), Int: (0x1E), Enrollment Type: (0x6), Scope: (0x0).
Configuration Service Provider (CSP)
The Policy Configuration Service Provider (CSP) is a feature used by organisations to manage and control settings on Windows 10 and 11 devices. It explains what each policy does, what settings or values can be used, and how it connects to older Group Policy settings (Group Policy Mapping details).
Description framework properties:
| Property Name | Property Value |
|---|---|
| Format | int |
| Access Type | Add, Delete, Get, Replace |
| Default Value | 90 |
Allowed values:
- 0 – Let the OS define the maximum amount of time the snapshots will be saved.
- 30 – 30 days
- 60 – 60 days
- 90 – 90 days(default)
- 180 – 180 days
Group policy mapping:
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | SetMaximumStorageDurationForRecallSnapshots |
| Friendly Name | Set maximum duration for storing snapshots used by Recall |
| Location | Computer and User Configuration |
| Path | Windows Components > Windows Al |
| Registry Key Name | SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsAl |
| Registry Value Name | SetMaximumStorageDurationForRecallSnapshots |
| ADMX File Name | WindowsCopilot.admx |
How to Remove an Assigned Group from this Policy
If you need to remove a group from a policy assignment for security updates. Open the policy from the configuration tab and click on the edit button. Then, click on the Remove button. Click Review + Save after making the changes.
For detailed information, you can refer to our previous post – Learn How to Delete or Remove App Assignment from Intune using by Step-by-Step Guide.
How to Delete this Policy from Intune Portal
If you want to delete this policy for any reason, you can do it easily. First, search for the policy name in the configuration section. When you find the policy name, click the 3-dot menu next to it and tap the Delete option.
For more information, you can refer to our previous post – How to Delete Allow Clipboard History Policy in Intune Step by Step Guide.
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Author
Anoop C Nair has been Microsoft MVP from 2015 onwards for 10 consecutive years! He is a Workplace Solution Architect with more than 22+ years of experience in Workplace technologies. He is also a Blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group Community leader. His primary focus is on Device Management technologies like SCCM and Intune. He writes about technologies like Intune, SCCM, Windows, Cloud PC, Windows, Entra, Microsoft Security, Career, etc.