The Rewind AI alternative for Windows
Rewind AI was Mac-only, and Meta shut it down. Trace brings a local, searchable memory of your day to Windows — on-device, no cloud, no subscription.
Trace is in beta — not available to download yet. Join the list and we'll email you when Windows builds are ready.
What Rewind did — and why it's gone
Rewind AI gave people something genuinely useful: a searchable record of everything they had seen and done on their computer. Forgot which article had that one statistic? Couldn't remember where you read a price, or what was said in a call three weeks ago? You just searched your own past and found it. It was a great product.
Then the company behind it pivoted to a wearable, rebranded as Limitless, and was acquired by Meta. The original Rewind desktop app was shut down on December 19, 2025. For everyone who had built the habit of searching their own memory, the tool simply stopped existing — and there was no drop-in replacement that kept everything on the local machine.
This page isn't here to dunk on Rewind. Rewind was great, and it's gone. The point is what people who relied on it should do next — especially if they were never able to use it in the first place.
Why Windows users were left out
Here's the part that stings if you're on a PC: Rewind AI was Mac-only. There was never an official Rewind build for Windows. So when people search for a "Rewind alternative for Windows," they're usually not replacing something they lost — they're looking for the local memory app they could never run to begin with.
The Windows options that do exist all come with a catch. Microsoft Recall is local, but it's locked to new Copilot+ PCs and takes constant screenshots of everything you do — an approach that drew serious privacy criticism on launch. Open-source projects like Screenpipe are powerful but lean on heavy, continuous screen recording and an optional cloud tier. And plenty of "memory" apps quietly upload your activity to someone else's servers.
So the gap is specific: Windows users want on-device memory and a searchable activity history, without continuous screen video, without a Copilot+ PC requirement, and without anything leaving their machine. That's the gap Trace is built to fill.
How Trace works on Windows
Three quiet steps. Everything happens on your PC — nothing leaves it.
Light capture
Trace notes lightweight signals: your browser history, the active app or window, and clipboard text. No 24/7 screen recording. Screenshots with OCR are planned as an optional, off-by-default extra — not something running today.
Local indexing
Everything is indexed and encrypted on your own machine. The exclusion filter runs before anything is written, so private apps, domains and incognito windows never get recorded in the first place.
Search & timeline
Search any word you remember, or scroll a timeline to answer "what was I doing on Tuesday?". Instant, fully offline, and yours alone. It works the same on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Trace vs Microsoft Recall vs Screenpipe
The three realistic local-memory options for Windows today, side by side.
| Trace | Microsoft Recall | Screenpipe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on Windows | Yes — any modern PC | Copilot+ PC only | Yes |
| What it captures | Light signals (history, active window, clipboard) | Constant full-screen snapshots | Continuous screen recording |
| Truly local / offline | Yes — works firewall-closed | Local, but controversial | Local, with cloud upsell |
| Resource footprint | Light — no 24/7 video | Constant snapshotting | Heavy (high RAM/CPU) |
| Pricing | One-time $39 (early-bird) | Bundled, needs new hardware | Cloud tier is subscription |
| Availability | Beta — join the waitlist | Shipping (on Copilot+ PCs) | Available (open source) |
Comparison reflects publicly reported facts as of mid-2026 and is provided in good faith. Product names belong to their respective owners.
Researching the field more broadly? See how Trace stacks up as a Microsoft Recall alternative, a Screenpipe alternative, or a Limitless alternative.
Get the Windows beta first
Trace isn't downloadable yet. Join the waitlist to get the Windows beta, lock in the $39 lifetime price, and help shape what gets built.
Pricing: one-time, no subscription
Rewind charged a recurring fee, and most cloud-flavoured memory tools still do. Trace doesn't. It's a single payment for the desktop app — you own it, and it keeps working whether or not you ever pay again.
Joining the waitlist locks in the early-bird price of $39 (regular price $59) as a one-time purchase that covers Windows, macOS and Linux plus future updates of the desktop app. A local-AI "Pro" tier — semantic chat over your own memory, still running on-device — is planned for later and is entirely optional. The core local memory never depends on it.
How to get started
Because Trace is still in beta, getting started today means getting in line — not downloading an installer. Here's exactly what happens:
- Add your email to the waitlist below. That's the only step that's needed right now.
- We email you when the Windows beta build is ready — no spam in between, just that one message.
- Waitlist members keep the $39 early-bird lifetime price when Trace launches.
- Curious how the capture and search actually work? Read how Trace works on the home page.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Rewind alternative for Windows?
Yes. Trace by Fervon is a local-first personal memory app for Windows, macOS and Linux. It captures lightweight activity history on your own machine so you can search everything you saw, read or did — without the cloud and without a subscription. Trace is currently in waitlist/beta, so you can join the list to be notified when Windows builds are ready.
Did Rewind AI work on Windows?
No. Rewind AI was a Mac-only app — there was never an official Rewind build for Windows. That's exactly why Windows users were left without a local memory tool, both while Rewind existed and after it was discontinued.
What happened to Rewind AI?
Rewind (later Limitless) was acquired by Meta, and the Rewind desktop app was shut down on December 19, 2025. People who relied on it for a searchable, local record of their day were left looking for an alternative.
How is Trace different from Microsoft Recall?
Microsoft Recall is tied to Copilot+ PCs and takes constant snapshots of your screen, which drew privacy criticism. Trace runs on any modern Windows PC, captures far less, filters exclusions before anything is written to disk, and is designed to run with your firewall closed.
Is Trace free?
Trace is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Joining the waitlist locks in the $39 early-bird lifetime price (regular $59). There's no recurring fee for the desktop app, and an optional local-AI tier later is never required.