Automatic restore removes a step when your desk never changes. Confirm-before-restore is safer when monitors, apps, or windows vary because you can inspect the match before anything moves. Recall uses the second model: it shows display and window matches, then moves only recognizable existing windows after you confirm.
Updated 2026-08-03
Free: 1 workspacemacOS 13.0+Apple notarized
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Automatic restore reduces interaction at a desk that rarely changes. Confirmation adds one review step but fits a laptop moving among office, home, and meeting setups. The practical question is whether the cost of one incorrect window move is higher than the cost of one confirmation.
Look at what happens while a display is still waking, the arrangement changed, an app is closed, the window count differs, or a match is uncertain. A dependable tool should expose what cannot be restored instead of treating an old layout as an unconditional command for the current desktop.
Recall stores display identifiers, window match information, positions, and sizes locally on the Mac. Accounts, subscriptions, updates, feedback, optional first-party product analytics, and separate crash diagnostics use the network, but workspace, window, and display content is excluded from those data.
Free can fully save, update, and manually restore one workspace. Use your most common monitor setup to validate permission, matching, and restore results before deciding whether you need unlimited workspaces and display-reconnection recognition prompts.
Recall previews the match and waits for approval, so it is not intended for a completely unattended reconnect workflow.
Recall does not launch missing apps or create, switch, and restore macOS Spaces.
Best for: A highly consistent desk where the same monitors, apps, and windows are always ready.
Strength: Fewer steps after reconnecting when the current environment reliably matches the saved one.
Limit: A waking display, missing window, or changed match can move windows before you review the current desktop.
Best for: People who change desks or want to verify target displays and windows first.
Strength: A visible preflight reduces the risk of moving windows from an uncertain match.
Limit: Every restore needs an explicit confirmation instead of running with zero interaction.
Best for: Multi-monitor users who want local workspaces, reconnect recognition, and a restore preview.
Strength: Workspace content stays on the Mac, and only existing windows with reliable matches move.
Limit: Recall does not launch missing apps, manage macOS Spaces, or bypass Accessibility permission.
No. Automatic restore fits a fixed and stable desk. Confirmation is useful when monitors or window state change and an incorrect move would be disruptive.
Recall shows the current display and window match first, then waits for your confirmation so an incomplete or uncertain desktop is not changed silently.
Yes. Free can fully save, update, and manually restore one workspace. Recall does not offer a time-limited trial.
Recall saves multi-monitor workspaces locally, previews matches after reconnecting, and restores only after confirmation. Free includes 1 workspace.
Download Free for macOS
