How to turn off Apple Intelligence

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Availability & Requirements

  • Several commenters report not seeing Apple Intelligence in settings; others explain it requires recent hardware (M‑series or A17 Pro) and specific OS versions.
  • Regional and language support is inconsistent: Macs in the EU can have it, but iPhones/iPads there generally can’t yet; some in Asia use it by setting system language to US English.
  • Some users can’t enable it due to language mismatches (e.g., “English (South Africa)” vs Siri language).

Storage Impact

  • Turning off Apple Intelligence on iPhone/Mac can free ~5–7 GB, which is significant on 64–128 GB devices.
  • One user notes disabling it on iPad still shows ~3 GB used and is unsure if iOS really reclaims this space on demand.

UX, Dark Patterns & Opt‑Out Pain

  • Multiple complaints that prompts to enable Apple Intelligence are pushy: dismissing notifications can open Settings and trigger downloads.
  • People dislike that iOS 18.3 re‑enabled features they had declined, and that related options (e.g., “Learn from this App”) must be toggled off per‑app.
  • Comparisons are made to long‑standing UX “metric juicing” and dark patterns (badges in Settings, default opt‑in, repeated nags).
  • Some say this erodes trust in updates; a few now avoid OS updates altogether.

Privacy & “Spyware” Concerns

  • Strong suspicion that local models and Private Cloud Compute enable extensive device‑wide analysis, with only Apple’s assurances preventing abuse.
  • Some point to on‑device photo analysis and older Siri/Spotlight “learning” features as precedent for cross‑app data indexing.
  • Others push back that models are mostly local and cloud calls are claimed to be non‑stored, but critics still worry about data leaving the device and future policy shifts.

Quality & Usefulness

  • Experiences with notification/message summaries are mixed: some find them almost always accurate, others say they’re often hilariously or dangerously wrong.
  • Many see little personal benefit from auto‑summaries or email “AI features,” and primarily want a more reliable, more capable Siri for simple commands.
  • Some argue Apple Intelligence is a crippled, slowly updated ChatGPT wrapper; others call Siri fundamentally weak compared with ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode or Google/Gemini experiments.

Third‑Party & Non‑Apple Alternatives

  • Desire for a way to replace Apple Intelligence with third‑party assistants via privileged APIs, but skepticism Apple would ever allow it.
  • An open source “Orange Intelligence” project is mentioned as a DIY alternative on Apple platforms.
  • Growing interest in escaping the ecosystem entirely: prepaid “burner” iPhones, flip phones, GrapheneOS, and Linux (laptops and even phones) are discussed, with debate over how usable modern Linux desktops really are.

Broader Sentiment About Apple & AI Push

  • Several see Apple’s aggressive “AI phone” rebranding and forced rollout as investor‑driven, not user‑driven.
  • There’s nostalgia for earlier Apple focus on polish and restraint; some feel recent software (App Store, News, AI) is trending toward ad‑like, spammy, and user‑hostile experiences.
  • A few defend Apple’s right to evolve the product, but many feel their agency over “my computer/phone” is being steadily eroded.