DejaVu vs Rewind
Rewind showed what a screen memory could be. DejaVu keeps the idea and changes the parts that made people anxious. Here is the honest comparison, with Rewind as it was in 2025.
In short
- Like Rewind, DejaVu keeps a compressed, searchable memory of your screen on your Mac, with a global shortcut and a timeline.
- Unlike Rewind, DejaVu never records audio, has no account and no cloud features, and requires Touch ID to look back.
- Rewind’s app stopped capturing on December 19, 2025. DejaVu is in private beta.
We make DejaVu. We’ve tried to be fair: every claim about another product links to a public source.
We loved Rewind. Many of the people waiting for DejaVu used it every day and miss it. So this isn’t a page about why Rewind was wrong — it wasn’t. It is about what we kept, and what we did differently once we had seen how it ended.
Side by side
| Rewind (as of 2025) | DejaVu | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | App stopped capturing on December 19, 2025 | Private beta; waitlist open |
| Platform | Mac (and an iPhone app) | Mac (macOS 26 or later, Apple silicon); an iPhone companion is planned |
| What it kept | Compressed screen recordings and audio | Compressed pictures of your screen when it changes, and their text |
| Audio | Yes, including meetings | Never |
| Where it was processed | On your Mac; text sent to language-model partners when you used its AI features | On your Mac |
| To look back | Open the app | Touch ID, or your password, depending on the level you choose |
| Search | Global shortcut, keyword search, AI questions | ⇧⌘Space, keyword search with the word highlighted; local AI questions planned |
| Timeline | Yes | Yes (⇧⌘T) |
| Price | Pro $19/month billed yearly or $29 month to month (Dec 2023 – Jan 2025) | Free with 3 days of memory; Pro $79 once, $9/month or $59/year |
What we kept from Rewind
- The magic moment. Type a word, see the moment, the word highlighted. That is still the heart of it.
- Local by default. Your screen is read on your Mac, not uploaded.
- Small on disk. A frame is kept only when the screen changes, and compressed with Apple’s hardware video encoder.
- A real Mac app. Menu bar, keyboard shortcuts, Apple’s own frameworks.
What we changed
No audio, ever. Rewind could record meetings. That is useful, and also means recording people who didn’t agree to it. DejaVu never touches the microphone or system sound, and skips video calls by default.
No account, no cloud features. Rewind’s AI features sent text to its partners when you used them. DejaVu has no account and no cloud features at all; future AI features are planned to run on your Mac, with Apple’s on-device models.
A lock on the history. In DejaVu, remembering needs nothing from you, but looking back requires Touch ID. Your memory is encrypted on your Mac, with a key protected by its Secure Enclave.
Independent of us. DejaVu runs on your Mac and your memory doesn’t depend on our servers. Pro can export it in open formats — text as JSON and Markdown, pictures as HEIC, video as HEVC.
A price that is easy to keep. Free with 3 days of memory, Pro at $79 once — or $9 a month or $59 a year if you prefer.
What DejaVu doesn’t do (yet)
- Meeting transcription — and it won’t, by design.
- Questions in plain language about your memory — planned, on your Mac, with Apple’s on-device models.
- An iPhone app — a lighter companion is planned.
- Importing your Rewind history — not possible today.
Moving from Rewind
There is nothing to migrate, and that is the point: install DejaVu, allow Screen Recording, and your Mac starts remembering. If you still have Rewind installed, read What happened to Rewind? before you remove it, and see the other Rewind alternatives if you want to compare.
Questions
Is DejaVu made by the people who made Rewind?
No. DejaVu is an independent app, made by the team behind MoreRoom. It isn’t affiliated with Rewind, Limitless or Meta.
Can DejaVu import my Rewind history?
No. Rewind’s screen history was stored in its own format, and we know of no documented way to read it. DejaVu starts remembering from the day you install it.
Does DejaVu have Rewind’s meeting transcription?
No. DejaVu never uses the microphone or system sound. That is a deliberate choice, so that nobody is ever recorded without consenting.
Does DejaVu have a shortcut like Rewind’s?
Yes. Press ⇧⌘Space anywhere to search your memory, and ⇧⌘T to open the timeline.
Sources
- Rewind pricing page (archived), Internet Archive · December 23, 2023
- Rewind pricing page (archived), Internet Archive · January 5, 2025
- Limitless announcement and FAQ, Limitless
- Rewind Mac app shutting down following Meta acquisition, 9to5Mac · December 5, 2025
Public information as of the date above. If something has changed, write to [email protected] and we’ll correct it.