How to turn off Apple Intelligence

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Apple’s new “Apple Intelligence” features in iOS, iPadOS and macOS are drawing criticism for being enabled by default, difficult to fully disable, and consuming several gigabytes of storage. Commenters highlight confusing availability limits (newer M-series/A17 devices, certain regions and US English), intrusive prompts and dark-pattern UX, as well as privacy worries about on-device and cloud-based analysis of personal data. Many express a desire either to turn the system off entirely, reclaim space and control, or replace it with open-source or third‑party AI tools—or even abandon modern smartphones in favor of simpler, less enshittified devices.

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.