How to disable or restrict your iPhone’s Apple Intelligence features
Apple has removed the single system-wide switch to disable Apple Intelligence in iOS 27, making the AI suite harder to turn off entirely. However, users can still control most individual AI features through various settings menus, though this requires navigating to multiple different locations. The move reflects Apple's continued push to embed AI throughout its operating system.
Users can disable key features including Siri (or revert to "Siri Classic" for basic voice commands), message summaries, email summaries, notification summaries, Smart Reply, voicemail action suggestions, and call information display. More advanced features such as Writing Tools, Image Creation, Math Assistance, and third-party extensions are controlled through the Screen Time settings under Content & Privacy Restrictions. Each feature must be disabled individually, requiring users to toggle multiple separate options across different settings menus.
- Disable each Apple Intelligence feature individually in iOS 27
- Some controls hidden in Screen Time settings, not main menus
- Siri can revert to Siri Classic for basic commands
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Apple Intelligence refers to artificial intelligence features that Apple has built into iOS, the software that powers iPhones. These include tools for writing assistance, summarising messages and emails, voice commands, image creation, and various other AI-powered functions.
Apple has altered how users can control these features in its latest iOS update. Previously, there was a single switch to disable Apple Intelligence entirely, but this has been removed, requiring users to manage each feature separately through different settings menus if they wish to opt out.
For many users, this makes controlling which technologies are active on their devices more complicated and time-consuming. The change also reflects broader patterns in how technology companies integrate new features into their products and what options they give users to reject them.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Users should have simple, unified control over major system features, particularly those with privacy implications. By removing the system-wide toggle and scattering controls across multiple settings menus, Apple creates unnecessary friction for those who wish to opt out, potentially disadvantaging less tech-savvy users and suggesting that corporate adoption of AI takes precedence over genuine user autonomy.
The case against
Apple Intelligence comprises distinct features designed to enhance specific functions, so individual controls better accommodate diverse user preferences—allowing some users to keep Siri whilst disabling Writing Tools, for instance. Users retain complete control over each feature through accessible settings, and modern operating systems typically integrate capabilities throughout the system rather than providing monolithic switches, making Apple's approach consistent with standard design practices.