01 / remember
Stop relying on a perfect memory.
Revisit what you were doing, what you read, and where your time went, whenever you need the context.
v1.3.0 now available — Free for Windows
Opt-in activity tracking for Windows · Private RescueTime alternative · No extension needed
Your day,
remembered.
DayRecall helps you remember the work you do, the pages you read, and the time you spend. Tracking is opt-in; your records stay in local SQLite. Search, review, and summarize your activity with local AI, or choose a hosted provider when that tradeoff works for you.
v1.3.0 · Free · Windows 10/11 · browser tracking built in, works without AI, no account needed
Heads-up: Windows may show an “Unknown publisher” prompt — the installer is unsigned indie software. Click More info → Run anyway. Details
Tracking is opt-inNo account neededNo extension neededLocal data by defaultWindows 10 / 11
A quieter way to keep the context you worked hard to build.
DayRecall in action
See how your day comes back into focus.
A quick look at how DayRecall turns your everyday activity into a private, searchable record.
DayRecall v1.3.0 product preview23 seconds
The problem
Where did the day go?
Between windows, tabs, documents, and articles, the useful thread of a day is easy to lose. DayRecall keeps the thread.
02 / understand
Make your history useful.
Daily digests, project analytics, search, and chat turn raw activity into a clearer picture of your work.
One private memory
Everything you need to find your way back.
Useful on an ordinary Tuesday, valuable when a detail from three weeks ago suddenly matters.
Browser tracking, built in
Active-tab URLs, titles, domains, and per-page durations from Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, Firefox, and more — natively, with nothing to install. Blacklist and incognito controls included.
Daily digest
Turn your day's activity into a concise summary of apps, domains, projects, and article takeaways.
Ask your day
Ask natural-language questions about your tracked history with AI grounded in your own data.
Timeline
Replay a day as contiguous frames and remember what you were doing at a specific time.
Projects
Per-project time across VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, and more — with git commits, file activity, search, sort, and range presets.
Global search
Full-text plus semantic search across activity, browser history, articles, documents, memories, and chat answers — with live topbar results as you type.
Analytics
Accurate Active Time that reconciles with Usage, plus focus, distraction, and learning trends across days, weeks, and months.
Billing & reviews
Weekly, monthly, and yearly AI reviews plus professional invoice PDFs with hourly rates, tax, discounts, and timesheets — for freelancers.
Export, backup & updates
Export to CSV, JSON, Markdown, or PDF, keep timestamped local SQLite backups, and get one-click MSI updates. Uninstalls and upgrades never touch your data.
How it compares
A private alternative to RescueTime, ManicTime & ActivityWatch.
Same idea — know where your time went — with local-first records and an explicit choice about whether to use hosted AI.
| Feature | DayRecall | RescueTime | ManicTime | ActivityWatch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where data lives | Your PC (SQLite) | Cloud | Your PC | Your PC |
| Account required | No | Yes | No | No |
| Browser URLs | Built in, no extension | Extension | Extension | Extension |
| AI chat over your history | Yes — local with Ollama | — | — | — |
| Price | Free | Free tier + paid | Free tier + paid | Free, open source |
Based on each product's publicly documented behavior at the time of writing — features change, so check the vendors for current details.
Privacy is the starting point
Your data belongs to you.
Most productivity tools begin with a cloud account. DayRecall begins on your Windows machine: tracking is off until you opt in, and activity is stored locally. You choose whether AI runs on-device or through a hosted provider.
OPT-IN
Tracking starts only after you enable it; pause or resume whenever you want.
LOCAL
Tracked activity is stored in a local SQLite database on your machine.
YOUR CHOICE
Use Ollama on-device, or configure a hosted AI provider that receives relevant context when used.
YOURS
Export your records anytime, and keep your own local backups.
Ask your day
Questions you already know how to ask.
Your personal context is more useful when it is queryable. DayRecall's chat works from the activity it has tracked for you.
How much time did I spend coding today?
What articles did I read this morning?
What was I working on around 3 PM?
Which projects took most of my time this week?
Timeline playback
Remember exactly what you were doing.
When a thought, decision, or useful page is just out of reach, move through the day instead of guessing.
Tuesday, October 0809:00 — 18:00
Focused work — Visual Studio
Read — article in Chrome
Planning — Notion
Review — pull request
More than a time tracker
One workday. Many ways back in.
DayRecall turns the same local record into different kinds of help, depending on what you need to remember.
See the day
Dashboard stats, activity logs, usage reports, Day Story narrative, and timeline playback show what happened and when.
Understand the pattern
Accurate Active Time, rebuilt Projects with search and range presets, focus sessions, context switching, and trends help you review how time moved.
Keep the knowledge
DeepMemory sensors learn from terminal commands, process runs, git commits, and workspace files — all local, secrets redacted — plus bookmarks, documents, and article summaries.
Review with perspective
Ask about your day, generate weekly or monthly reviews, export invoices as PDF, and check Settings → Updates for one-click upgrades.
Start with the right expectations
Made for a local Windows setup.
The app is intentionally close to the machine. That keeps your records private, and makes the setup a little different from a cloud SaaS tool.
Desktop app
DayRecall runs on Windows 10/11 as a tray-friendly desktop application.
No extension — tracking built in
Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, and Firefox URLs, tab titles, and page time are captured natively. Nothing to install.
Ollama is the default
Install Ollama and the supported model for local digests, chat, summaries, and embeddings.
OpenAI is optional
You can configure OpenAI as a fallback, but relevant prompts and context then leave your machine.
Release notes
v1.3.0 — latest release.
A refreshed DayRecall experience, with refinements across the dashboard, daily review, tracking, search, and AI-assisted features.
Refreshed interface
A more cohesive visual design across the dashboard, daily digest, articles, and shared components makes the app easier to navigate and use.
Better activity review
Refinements to activity tracking, analytics, timeline playback, and usage views help make your recorded workday clearer.
Smoother discovery and AI workflows
Search, chat, and local AI experiences have been refined to make it easier to find and understand your activity.
Your data stays yours
Tracking remains opt-in and your activity history stays stored locally on your device.
Questions, answered
Frequently asked questions.
Short answers. Read them without sharing any activity data.
Is DayRecall really private? Where is my data stored?
Tracking is opt-in. When enabled, activity is stored in a local SQLite database on your Windows machine. There is no account or cloud sync. Local AI stays on-device; a hosted AI provider receives relevant activity context only when you configure and use it.
Does DayRecall need an account or internet connection?
No account is needed. Core local features work offline after installation and any local AI model setup. Internet is used to download the app, check updates, fetch articles for summaries, or reach a hosted AI provider you configure.
What does DayRecall track — and what does it not track?
When you enable tracking, DayRecall records the foreground app and window title, plus the active page URL, title, and time spent in supported desktop browsers. It does not capture screenshots or keystrokes.
How does AI handle my activity data?
Local Ollama processes AI requests on your device. If you choose and configure a hosted AI provider, relevant activity context for that request is sent to that provider.
Which versions of Windows are supported?
DayRecall runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11 as a tray-friendly desktop app. No .NET runtime or SDK is needed.
How does browser tracking work without an extension?
DayRecall reads the active tab URL and title natively via Windows UI Automation from Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, Firefox, and more. Nothing to install — per-page durations, domains, and SPA navigation are recorded automatically, with blacklist and incognito controls in Settings.
Is DayRecall free?
Yes. DayRecall v1.3.0 is free. You can export supported data to CSV, JSON, Markdown, or PDF, and keep local backups.
How do updates work?
Settings → Updates checks GitHub releases automatically and shows a banner, toast, and tray alert when a newer version is available. One click downloads and installs the MSI. Upgrades and uninstalls never touch your database, backups, or settings.
How do I pause, delete, export, or back up my data?
You can pause tracking from the system tray, clear any date range, configure browser privacy rules, export to CSV, JSON, Markdown, or PDF, and restore from timestamped local SQLite backups.
Feedback & reviews
Tried DayRecall? Tell us how it went.
One short form. No account, no tracking — just your rating and words, stored privately for the maker to read.