How to Disable Apple Intelligence Features on iPhone, iPad, or Mac

The latest operating systems for Macs, iPads, and iPhones from Apple include a suite of artificial intelligence features known as Apple Intelligence. A number of OS components are impacted by these additions, including email summaries, notifications, a suite of writing tools, and Siri improvements that make it possible to query ChatGPT.

These features may be useful to some, but they may not be necessary to you. If this is the case, you can avoid dealing with AI’s whims by disabling them. There are other ways to reduce the amount of storage space on your devices. Let me show you how.

What Is Apple Intelligence and How Does It Work?

A diverse set of AI-powered tools are collectively referred to as Apple Intelligence. These tools include:

• Writing Tools: Used for editing or revising texts.
• Clean Up: A feature in the Apple Photos app that organizes and enhances photo libraries.
• Image Playground: Generates AI images and “Genmoji” (generative AI emoji).
• Visual Intelligence: (Available on iPhone 16 only) Searches for images to provide detailed information about them.
• Email Previews and Notifications: Includes AI-generated summaries for quick insights.

Which Apple Devices Support Apple Intelligence?

Apple Intelligence is supported on the following devices:

• iPhone: Available on the iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max, and all iPhone 16 models.
• iPad: Compatible with iPads equipped with Apple’s M-series chips (M1, M2, M4).
• iPad mini: Requires the Apple A17 Pro chip.
• Mac: Works on Macs featuring M-series chips (M1, M2, M3, M4).

Apple Intelligence is accessible in select languages and regions, with support expanding through ongoing operating system updates. For detailed information on current language and region availability, refer to the footnote on the relevant Apple website page.

The rollout began with iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1. Additional features were introduced in the .2 releases, with more enhancements planned for future updates.

How to turn off Apple Intelligence Features on iPhone?

To turn off Apple Intelligence, follow these steps:

• On iPhone or iPad:
  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Apple Intelligence & Siri.
  3. Toggle off Apple Intelligence.

• On Mac:
  1. Open System Settings.
  2. Click Apple Intelligence & Siri.
  3. Toggle off Apple Intelligence.

Disabling Apple Intelligence will turn off all related features and free up storage space.

• On macOS, approximately 5 GB of space is freed.
• On an iPhone or iPad, about 3 GB of space is freed.

How to Turn Off Individual Apple Intelligence Features

Writing Tools

• Cannot be disabled, but they only activate when selected through a contextual menu or the Edit menu on Mac.

Image Playground & Genmoji

• Image Playground is a standalone app. To stop using it, delete the app from your device. This will disable the creation of generative AI images and Genmoji.

Email Summaries

• On Mac: Open the Mail app, go to Mail > Settings > View, and deselect Summarize Message Previews.
• On iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings > Apps > Mail and toggle off Summarize Message Previews.

Messages and Notification Summaries

• On Mac: Navigate to System Settings > Notifications, click Summarize Notifications, and toggle off the setting. You can also disable it for specific apps in the list below.
• On iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings > Notifications > Summarize Notifications and toggle off the settings. You can individually manage notification summaries for each app.

ChatGPT Integration

• On Mac and iPhone/iPad: Go to System Settings (Mac) or Settings (iPhone or iPad), then Apple Intelligence & Siri. Tap or click ChatGPT under Extensions and toggle off Use ChatGPT.

Apple plans to integrate more third-party LLMs (large language models) as alternatives to ChatGPT. These can be disabled in the same way once added.

As Apple Intelligence evolves, users can enable or disable these features globally or selectively choose which ones to use.