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How to turn off Apple Intelligence on macOS 27 (all 11 settings)

macOS 27 removed the single Apple Intelligence switch. Here is every setting, where it lives in System Settings, Screen Time, Mail, Messages and Journal, and how to verify it’s off.

7 min readUpdated By the TidyMac team
Short answer

macOS 27 has no single off switch. Turn off Siri AI in System Settings › Siri; Writing Tools, Image Creation and AI extensions in Screen Time › Content & Privacy › Intelligence & Siri; summaries in Notifications, Messages and Mail; Mail categories and smart replies in Mail; and Journal prompts in Journal settings.

The steps
  1. System Settings › Siri: turn off Siri, or switch to Siri Classic.
  2. Screen Time › Content & Privacy › Intelligence & Siri: turn off Writing Tools.
  3. Same page: turn off Image Creation (Genmoji, Image Playground).
  4. Same page: turn off Intelligence Extensions (ChatGPT and others).
  5. System Settings › Notifications › Summarize Notifications: off.
  6. Messages › Settings: turn off Summarize Messages.
  7. Mail › Settings › Viewing: turn off Summarize Message Previews.
  8. Mail › Settings › Composing: turn off Personalize Smart Replies.
  9. Mail › View: untick Show Mail Categories.
  10. Journal › Settings › General: turn off Get Writing Prompts.
  11. System Settings › Siri › App Access: turn off learning for each app.

Why there's no single switch anymore

On macOS 26 Tahoe, one switch in System Settings turned Apple Intelligence off. macOS 27 replaced it with per-feature controls spread across System Settings, Screen Time and individual apps. Some people also found features turned back on after updating.

The full checklist

  1. Siri AI: System Settings › Siri. Turn Siri off, or switch to Siri Classic.
  2. Writing Tools: System Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy › Intelligence & Siri.
  3. Image Creation (Genmoji, Image Playground): same page.
  4. ChatGPT and other extensions: same page, Intelligence Extensions.
  5. Notification summaries: System Settings › Notifications › Summarize Notifications.
  6. Messages summaries: Messages › Settings › Summarize Messages.
  7. Mail summaries: Mail › Settings › Viewing › Summarize Message Previews.
  8. Mail smart replies: Mail › Settings › Composing › Personalize Smart Replies.
  9. Mail categories: Mail › View › Show Mail Categories.
  10. Journal writing prompts: Journal › Settings › General › Get Writing Prompts.
  11. Siri learning per app: System Settings › Siri › App Access.
Screen Time items need Screen Time turned on. Labels can differ slightly between Macs and minor updates.

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How to check it's really off

Keep the Apple Intelligence Report turned on in System Settings › Privacy & Security. It records when Apple Intelligence features are used, so you can confirm nothing is running.

After every macOS update

Updates have re-enabled features for some people. Re-check the list after each update. TidyMac remembers your macOS build and sends one notification when it changes: "macOS updated. Re-check your Apple Intelligence settings."

Does turning it off free storage?

No. The models stay installed as part of macOS. How much space Apple Intelligence uses

Keep reading

How much storage Apple Intelligence uses on a Mac (and can you remove it?)TidyMac for privacyHow to clear System Data on macOS 27 without breaking anything
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