Rewind AI Alternative in 2026 — What to Use Now

Rewind AI no longer exists. The Mac app that once let you record your screen 24/7 and search everything with AI was acquired by Meta in December 2025. The screen and audio capture features were disabled on December 19, 2025. Pendant sales stopped. EU and UK users lost access with 14 days notice.

If you relied on Rewind — or you're discovering this space for the first time — here's what happened and what your options are now.

The Full Timeline

2022: Rewind launched as a Mac app. Always-on screen capture, OCR, AI-powered search. Local-first. Privacy was the selling point. Backed by a16z.

April 2024: Rewind rebranded to Limitless. The company pivoted to a $99 wearable pendant for recording in-person conversations. The Mac app shifted to cloud-connected architecture. Screen recording became secondary to meeting transcription.

December 5, 2025: Meta acquired Limitless. The Rewind Mac app shut down. Screen and audio capture were disabled two weeks later. All remaining users were moved to a free plan — under Meta's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

March 2026: The pendant has "at least another year" of support, but the technology is being absorbed into Meta's AI products. The original vision — a local screen recorder with AI search — is gone.

The irony: Rewind's original pitch was that your data stays on your device. Now it belongs to Meta.

What to Use Instead

Screenpipe — Open Source, Local-First

Screenpipe is the closest thing to what Rewind was supposed to be. It captures your screen text and audio continuously, stores everything on your device, and lets you search or query any moment from your day.

	Screenpipe	Rewind (deceased)
Status	Active, growing (16,000+ GitHub stars)	Shut down Dec 2025
Source code	MIT open source	Closed source
Platforms	Mac, Windows, Linux	Mac only
Data storage	100% on your device	Cloud → Meta
Screen capture	Continuous, all monitors	Discontinued
Audio	System + mic, local transcription	Pendant mic only (last version)
AI model	Any — Claude, GPT, Ollama, local models	Built-in only
Developer API	Full REST API + MCP server	None (beta API had reliability issues)
Offline	Fully offline capable	Required internet
Price	$400 lifetime (or free self-host)	Was $29/mo + $99 pendant

Screenpipe does what original Rewind did — always-on screen capture, text extraction via accessibility APIs with OCR fallback, AI-powered search — and adds what Rewind never delivered: audio transcription, Windows and Linux support, a developer API, and fully offline operation.

The code is on GitHub. Your security team can audit every line. Data stays on your machine unless you choose to call a cloud AI model.

Microsoft Recall — Free, but Windows Only

Built into Windows 11 on Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X processors. Takes periodic screen snapshots, runs OCR, and lets you search your visual history.

Good for: Windows users on compatible hardware who want basic screen search without installing anything.

Limitations: No audio capture. No API. Windows only. Requires specific hardware (Copilot+ PC). Snapshots are periodic, not continuous — you can miss things between captures. Microsoft stores the data locally but the processing pipeline is not open source. No way to build automations on top of it.

For a deeper comparison, see Microsoft Recall vs Screenpipe.

Pieces — Developer-Focused

Pieces captures code snippets and development context. It has SOC 2 certification, IDE integrations (VS Code, JetBrains), and local processing options.

Good for: Developers who want to save and organize code snippets with AI context.

Not a Rewind replacement if: You need full screen capture, audio recording, or non-coding workflow coverage.

Memento / Retrace — Simpler Open Source Options

Both are open source Mac apps that take periodic screenshots and run OCR.

Lighter than Screenpipe but also more limited: no audio, no Windows or Linux, no API, smaller communities. If you want a minimal screen-only tool on Mac, they work. If you want the full Rewind experience with audio and cross-platform support, Screenpipe covers more ground.

Why Rewind Users Switch to Screenpipe

The four things that made Rewind work:

1. Set and forget. You didn't have to start recording. Screenpipe runs on startup, captures in the background, and stays out of your way. No daily interaction needed.

2. Instant search. Local database with indexed screen text. Results in milliseconds, not after cloud round-trips.

3. Comprehensive capture. All monitors, all apps, screen text plus audio. More comprehensive than Rewind was — Rewind captured screen only, Screenpipe captures screen and audio.

4. Low overhead. Hardware-accelerated encoding on Apple Silicon. Under 1% CPU in typical use. Rewind was known for turning MacBooks into space heaters — this was one of the top complaints from early adopters.

Plus what Rewind never shipped despite years of promises: configurable AI models, Windows support, a public API, and offline operation. Screenpipe has all four.

The Privacy Question

Rewind launched on the promise that your data never leaves your device. Then they moved to cloud. Then Meta bought them. Your recordings — if you didn't delete them — are now under the data policies of a company that monetizes personal information at scale.

Screenpipe is MIT open source. Every line of code is auditable. Data stays on your device. There is no cloud component unless you opt into one. No acquisition can change this because the code is public — if the project ever shut down, you could still run it yourself.

For teams in regulated industries — healthcare, finance, legal — this distinction is not philosophical. It is a compliance requirement.

Switching from Rewind / Limitless

Download Screenpipe
Grant screen and audio permissions
Let it run — your history builds immediately

You cannot import old Rewind data (Limitless offered a limited export window that closed in late December 2025). But after a week of Screenpipe running, most former Rewind users say they have more useful data than they ever did — the audio transcription alone covers a gap Rewind never filled.

Bottom Line

Rewind had the right vision: AI that remembers everything on your computer. The execution went sideways — hardware pivot, cloud dependency, and a Meta acquisition that contradicted every privacy promise.

Screenpipe picked up where original Rewind left off. Open source, local-first, cross-platform, with a developer API. $400 for a lifetime license, or free if you self-host from source.

The idea didn't die. It just moved to a project that can't be acquired.

Related:

Try Screenpipe →

Rewind AI Alternative in 2026 — What to Use After Meta Killed It