How to Turn Off Apple Intelligence on iPhone and Mac

The Short Answer

To turn off Apple Intelligence, open Settings, tap Apple Intelligence & Siri, then switch the Apple Intelligence toggle off. Confirm the choice when your iPhone asks.

That single switch turns off the main AI system. According to Apple, doing this also removes the on-device AI models from your phone.

You do not have to go all in, though. You can leave the system on and switch off just the parts that bother you, like notification summaries or Writing Tools.

This guide covers both paths. We use Apple's own current settings, and we note where the menus differ between iOS 18 and iOS 26.

What Apple Intelligence Is (and Which iPhones Have It)

Apple Intelligence is Apple's built-in set of AI features for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It powers tools like Writing Tools, notification summaries, Image Playground, and a smarter Siri.

It is not a single app. It is a layer that shows up across Mail, Messages, Photos, Notes, and more.

Crucially, it is opt-in. Per Apple's setup guide, you choose to turn it on, and you can turn it back off at any time.

Which iPhones can run it

Only newer, more powerful iPhones support Apple Intelligence. Older models do not get it at all.

Per Apple, the supported iPhones are:

• iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
• The full iPhone 16 line and later, including standard, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max models

If you own an iPhone 14, an iPhone 13, or a standard iPhone 15, the feature is not on your device. There is nothing to switch off.

You also need a recent iOS version and the feature set to a supported language and region. Apple has expanded language support over time.

A quick note on iOS names

In 2025, Apple changed how it numbers iOS. The version after iOS 18 is iOS 26, named for the year rather than counting up by one.

The menus are nearly the same in both. Where a name or step differs, we call it out below.

How to Turn Off Apple Intelligence Completely

To turn off Apple Intelligence completely, use the master toggle in Settings. This is the fastest way to switch off every AI feature at once.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Apple Intelligence & Siri. On some iOS 18 builds this menu is labeled just "Siri."
3. Find the Apple Intelligence toggle near the top.
4. Switch it off.
5. In the pop-up, tap Turn Off Apple Intelligence to confirm.

That is it. The AI features across your apps will stop appearing.

Per Apple, turning the toggle off removes the on-device models your iPhone downloaded. Those models can take up several gigabytes, so you get that storage back.

One small exception is worth knowing. The Clean Up tool in Photos can still show up after its files are downloaded once. It only does anything when you actively tap it, so you can simply ignore it.

How to keep it off

Once off, Apple Intelligence stays off until you turn it back on. Your iPhone will not silently re-enable it during a normal update.

If you ever see a setup prompt again, just decline it. You are never forced to opt in.

How to Turn Off Individual AI Features

You can turn off single AI features without disabling Apple Intelligence entirely. This is useful if you like one tool but dislike another.

Each feature lives in a different spot. The table below shows where to switch off the most common ones.

Turn off notification summaries

Notification summaries use AI to shorten your alerts into one line. Some people find them handy, and others find them wrong or confusing.

To switch them off for everything:

1. Open Settings and tap Notifications.
2. Tap Summarize Notifications.
3. Turn off the toggle at the top.

You can also leave summaries on but turn them off for a single app. In the same menu, scroll to the app list and switch off the ones you do not trust.

Turn off Writing Tools

Writing Tools can rewrite, proofread, and summarize your text. To remove it, you use Screen Time restrictions, which we cover in the Screen Time section below.

The short path is Settings, then Screen Time, then Content & Privacy Restrictions, then Intelligence & Siri, then Writing Tools. Set it to Don't Allow.

Turn off image features

Image Playground and Genmoji create AI images and custom emoji. You can block them the same way, through Screen Time's Intelligence & Siri restrictions.

Turning off the master Apple Intelligence toggle also disables these. Screen Time is the tool for blocking one feature while keeping others.

How to Stop Siri From Using ChatGPT

To stop Siri from using ChatGPT, open Settings, tap Apple Intelligence & Siri, tap ChatGPT, then turn off Use ChatGPT. This cuts the link on its own.

ChatGPT is made by OpenAI, not Apple. Apple built an optional bridge so Siri can hand certain questions to it.

That bridge is off until you turn it on. But if you enabled it, or tapped through a setup prompt, here is how to remove it.

1. Open Settings and tap Apple Intelligence & Siri.
2. Scroll to Extensions and tap ChatGPT.
3. Turn off Use ChatGPT.
4. Also turn off Setup Prompts, so your iPhone stops asking you to connect it.

If you want to keep ChatGPT but stop the pop-ups, there is a middle option. In the same ChatGPT menu, turn off Confirm ChatGPT Requests only if you trust it to answer silently.

With Use ChatGPT off, Siri still works. It just answers on its own, without sending anything to OpenAI.

How to Limit What Siri Can See in iOS 27

You cannot turn off Siri's on-screen awareness with a dedicated switch in iOS 27. You can limit what it accesses, though, by adjusting individual app permissions or reverting Siri to an earlier version. Apple introduced on-screen awareness in September 2026. It lets Siri read content visible on your display to summarize webpages, adjust recipes, or identify locations in photos, as documented in Apple's privacy guide.

These requests can leave your device and run through Apple's Private Cloud Compute (PCC) servers, according to Apple's Siri privacy policy. iOS 27 does not provide an always-visible on-screen indicator to show whether an on-screen query was handled on the device or in the cloud.

Apple provides no toggle for users or third-party developers to shut off on-screen awareness by itself, as noted in Apple's Siri settings documentation. Because on-screen awareness reads any text or image shown on the display, Siri can inspect text inside end-to-end encrypted messaging apps whenever those threads are open on your screen.

To restrict what Siri can see and keep, use the following settings:

1. Block per-app content search: Go to Settings > Apps > [app name] > Search, and turn off "Show Content in Search." Turning this off for Messages prevents Siri from reading and summarizing your message threads.
2. Turn off data sharing for model improvements: Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements, and toggle off "Improve Siri & Dictation" to prevent Apple from using your interactions to train its systems, per Apple's dictation policy.
3. Revert to the non-AI assistant: Open Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Siri > Allowed Siri Version, and select "Siri Classic." As outlined in Apple's feature guide, this removes on-screen awareness while also disabling writing tools, image creation, and Siri's other AI extensions.

To stop on-screen reading completely while preserving basic voice controls, switch your device to Siri Classic.

How to Block AI Features With Screen Time

Screen Time can block specific Apple Intelligence features and lock them behind a passcode. This is the best tool for a child's iPhone or a shared device.

Per Apple's support guide, you can restrict Writing Tools, image creation, and other AI extensions here. Here is the path:

1. Open Settings and tap Screen Time.
2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn it on.
3. Tap Intelligence & Siri.
4. Choose a feature, such as Writing Tools, and tap Don't Allow.

You can repeat this for each AI tool you want blocked. A Screen Time passcode then stops anyone from turning them back on.

This approach is different from the master toggle. It hides features rather than removing the models, and it is designed to be locked.

How to Turn Off Apple Intelligence on Mac

On macOS Tahoe 26, open System Settings, click "Apple Intelligence & Siri", then click the button next to Apple Intelligence. On macOS 27, Apple doesn't have a single switch, so you turn off each feature separately or restrict Apple Intelligence in Screen Time.

These steps are for readers who want AI turned off on their Mac.

macOS Tahoe 26

Apple says the option you see depends on your macOS version and on whether you set up Apple Intelligence before. Apple's Tahoe guide gives this path:

1. Open the System Settings app.
2. Click "Apple Intelligence & Siri".
3. Click the button next to Apple Intelligence.

macOS 27

Apple's macOS 27 guide lists features you can turn off, such as Siri AI (Beta) and summarization features. Apple says the next-generation features are automatically available on eligible devices when you update to the 27.0 software releases. Apple's next-generation page says Apple Intelligence "powers an entirely new version of Siri: Siri AI," which is in beta.

Siri AI (Beta)

1. Open the System Settings app.
2. Click Siri in the sidebar.
3. Click "Turn Off Siri", then click "Turn Off Siri" again to confirm.

To go back to the older Siri, turn Siri off, then click "Turn On Siri" and select "Use Siri Classic."

Notification Summaries

1. Open the System Settings app.
2. Click Notifications in the sidebar.
3. Click Summarize Notifications.
4. Turn off "Summarize Notifications".

Messages

1. Open the Messages app and choose Messages > Settings.
2. Turn off "Summarize Messages".

Mail

1. Open the Mail app and choose Mail > Settings, then click Viewing.
2. Turn off "Summarize Message Previews".
3. To stop Smart Replies, choose Mail > Settings, click Composing, then turn off "Personalize Smart Replies".

ChatGPT

Apple's ChatGPT guide gives these steps:

1. Open the System Settings app and click Siri in the sidebar.
2. Click ChatGPT, then turn off "Use ChatGPT".
3. If you use Siri AI, click Extensions, click ChatGPT, then turn off "Use Extension".

To stop Siri suggesting ChatGPT when you make a request, turn off ChatGPT, then turn off "Setup Prompts." Apple says this option is not available with Siri AI.

Block It Everywhere With Screen Time on Mac

Screen Time can block Apple Intelligence as a whole. Apple's Screen Time guide gives this path on macOS 27:

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Screen Time.
2. Choose a family member if needed.
3. Click Content & Privacy, then click Intelligence & Siri.

The restriction there reads "Allow access to Apple Intelligence* features, including Image Creation, Writing Tools, and Intelligence Extensions." Turn that restriction off to block those features. Apple's Tahoe Screen Time page shows separate switches for each of those three on macOS Tahoe 26. On Tahoe 26, turn on Content & Privacy restrictions, then turn off the Writing Tools, Image Creation and Intelligence Extensions switches. Apple's pages show no in-app switch for Writing Tools, so Screen Time is the documented method.

How Much Storage Apple Intelligence Uses

Apple lists a Mac with M1 or later as the Mac requirement for Apple Intelligence. Apple says Mac models with M3 and later and at least 12GB of unified memory need up to 14 GB of storage on device. Other Apple Intelligence-enabled models need up to 8 GB of storage. Apple does not say whether turning Apple Intelligence off frees that space.

What You Lose (and Gain) by Turning It Off

Turning off Apple Intelligence removes the AI extras but leaves your core iPhone untouched. You trade some convenience features for more control and simplicity.

Here is what you lose:

• Writing Tools for rewriting and proofreading text
• AI notification summaries
• Image Playground and Genmoji
• The smarter, AI-powered Siri answers and the ChatGPT link

Here is what you keep and gain:

• Calls, texts, Photos, Maps, the camera, and classic Siri, all working as normal
• Storage space back, since Apple removes the on-device models
• Fewer AI prompts and suggestions across your apps
• A simpler, more predictable phone

For many people, the trade is easy. The AI features are new, and your iPhone did everything you needed before they arrived.

If your main goal is a calmer, less AI-driven phone, the full opt-out gets you there in under a minute.

Want a Phone With No AI at All?

If you want a phone with no AI at all, switching features off is a strong first step, but your next phone choice matters too. Some people want to move away from AI-heavy devices entirely.

If you have a Samsung phone, the settings are different. See our guide on how to turn off Galaxy AI for the exact steps.

If you use another Android phone, Google's assistant is the thing to disable. Our guide on how to turn off Gemini on Android walks you through it.

If you would rather switch to a phone with no AI baked in, we keep a full buyers' guide. See our roundup of phones without AI to compare your options.

Turning features off and choosing a simpler device work well together. One cleans up the phone you have, and the other shapes the phone you buy next.

Related guides

Google's search summaries need their own steps.

• How to turn off AI Overviews - the per-browser routes, the udm=14 web filter, and what Google does not let you switch off.
• AI without sending data to the cloud, what Private Cloud Compute is, and which features stay on the device.
• keyboards without AI, Writing Tools off, and what third-party keyboards can and cannot do on iPhone.
• email without AI, Apple Mail summaries off, and the providers that never added them.

The Bottom Line

You can turn off Apple Intelligence on your iPhone in seconds, and you stay in control the whole way. The master toggle lives in Settings, under Apple Intelligence & Siri.

You choose how far to go. Flip one switch to remove every AI feature, or turn off just the ones you dislike, like notification summaries or the ChatGPT link.

Your iPhone keeps working normally either way. You simply get a quieter phone, and often some storage back.

AI features arrive switched on by design, but opting out is your right. If you want to push back further, see what else you can do in fighting back.