GoKawiilIf Apple’s AI features aren’t part of your workflow, turning them off frees up storage and background resources in a few steps. Jeff Carlson/CNET
Apple Intelligence arrived with iOS 26 turned on by default, which means it’s been running on eligible iPhones and Macs whether their owners engage with it or not. For users who don’t use Writing Tools, have no interest in Image Playground and find notification summaries more disruptive than useful, the features are occupying storage and background resources for no practical benefit. Turning them off, either individually or all at once, takes a few taps in Settings and doesn’t affect any core iPhone functionality. Here’s how to do it on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
See also: Did a well-meaning friend send you a message about Apple Intelligence possibly reading your private information? I explain what’s actually going on.
Why turn off Apple Intelligence in the first place?
Since the first Apple Intelligence features rolled out in iOS 18.1, some people have opted out of the new technology. Tools such as Image Playground, Genmoji and message summaries can use up to 7GB of your device’s internal storage — a sizable chunk, especially if you tend to run against the upper limit of its free space.
Even if storage is not an issue, you just may not be interested in Apple’s set of AI features. A recent CNET survey finds that just 19% of US smartphone owners are choosing to upgrade their devices to take advantage of new AI features. And a recent ZDNET/Aberdeen survey reveals that the majority of US adults say they will not use most AI features, and just 8% would consider paying extra for them. Some AI features are more welcome than others, with 58% of respondents saying using AI for photo editing would be valuable.
Or, honestly, you may not want to deal with features that are creating inaccurate summaries or that can be replicated without Apple Intelligence.
The trainer killed someone? Nelson Aguilar/CNET
(Earlier iOS 18 updates re-enabled Apple Intelligence automatically even if you had turned it off, but as of iOS 18.4, the setting is honored.)
Is Apple Intelligence really ready to be on by default?
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