Importance Score: 65 / 100 🔴
Users of Apple Intelligence may find the feature persistently enabled, even after updates to iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4. While the updates bring beneficial additions like the Prioritize Notifications feature, alongside standard security enhancements and bug resolutions, the automatic re-activation of Apple Intelligence can be unwelcome. For users seeking to disable this suite of AI tools, this article provides clear instructions.
Why Consider Disabling Apple Intelligence?
Since its initial introduction in iOS 18.1, some users have chosen to deactivate Apple Intelligence. Features such as Image Playground, Genmoji, and message summaries can consume a significant amount of local storage – up to 7GB. This can be a crucial factor, particularly for those with limited device space.
Beyond storage concerns, some users may simply not find Apple’s AI features appealing or practical. Recent surveys indicate that a substantial percentage of Apple users perceive limited value in AI enhancements on their devices. Furthermore, frustrations may arise from features that produce inaccurate summaries or offer capabilities already available through alternative means.
Fortunately, disabling Apple Intelligence, either entirely or by selectively turning off specific features, is a straightforward process. This also allows users to free up device storage occupied by the AI system.
Is Apple Intelligence Ready for Default Activation?
While features like notification summaries and the Clean Up tool in the Photos application are valuable, Apple Intelligence remains under development. Despite being heavily promoted, it represents an evolving set of functionalities. Users who prefer not to be constantly exposed to these developing features, or feel like they are participating in ongoing testing, might opt to disable Apple Intelligence, especially considering dedicated beta programs exist for this purpose.
It’s important to remember that Apple Intelligence is compatible only with iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16E, iPhone 16 Pro, or M-series Macs and iPads, including the latest iPad mini.
The following sections detail how to disable Apple Intelligence.
Checking Apple Intelligence Storage Usage
To ascertain the storage footprint of Apple Intelligence on your device, navigate to Settings > General > iPhone (or iPad) Storage > iOS (or iPadOS). This section reveals the amount of storage currently used by the system.
It’s worth noting that even after disabling Apple Intelligence, the storage allocation might still be visible in the iOS Storage list initially. However, tests confirm that if your device approaches full storage capacity, the system will automatically reclaim the space previously used by inactive Apple Intelligence data to accommodate new files.
Complete Deactivation of Apple Intelligence (iPhone, iPad, and Mac)
To fully disable Apple Intelligence across your Apple devices:
On iPhone or iPad, open Settings.
On Mac, open System Settings.
Select Apple Intelligence & Siri.
Toggle off the Apple Intelligence option.
Confirm your decision by selecting Turn Off Apple Intelligence in the subsequent dialog box.
Disabling Apple Intelligence will deactivate the following features:
- Image Playground
- Genmoji
- Message Summaries
- Notification Summaries
- Writing Tools
Interestingly, the Clean Up tool in Photos may remain functional even after deactivating Apple Intelligence, potentially due to pre-downloaded resources.
Disabling Individual Apple Intelligence Features
For users who find certain Apple Intelligence features useful but wish to disable others, selective deactivation is possible within app settings.
For instance, to disable text summaries specifically for Messages notifications:
Go to Settings > Apps > Messages.
Turn off the Summarize Messages option.
Some features, like Writing Tools, operate system-wide and are not app-specific. These features appear as options when text is selected, regardless of the application. Disabling these requires system-wide deactivation of Apple Intelligence.
Furthermore, nearly every app setting includes an “Apple Intelligence & Siri” option with a “Learn from this App” toggle, enabled by default. This setting governs whether Apple Intelligence and Siri can analyze your app usage patterns to provide suggestions, but it does not control specific Apple Intelligence features.
Controlling Apple Intelligence Features via Screen Time Settings
Screen Time settings offer another way to manage Apple Intelligence functionalities. Primarily designed for parental controls and device usage tracking, Screen Time can also restrict specific Apple Intelligence components.
- Access the Settings app and proceed to Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Enable Content & Privacy Restrictions if it is not already active. Initially, all features are set to “allowed” by default.
- Tap Intelligence & Siri.
- Configure the following three features by selecting “Allow” or “Don’t Allow”: Image Creation (including Image Playground and Genmoji), Writing Tools, and the ChatGPT Extension (utilized for complex requests exceeding Apple Intelligence’s native capabilities).
By utilizing these methods, users can effectively manage and customize their Apple Intelligence experience according to their preferences and requirements.