Think you disabled Apple Intelligence? Think again

Summary

The latest iOS 18.3.2 update on the iPhone has re-enabled Apple Intelligence for users who have turned it off.
If you want to disable Apple Intelligence again or for the first time, you can do so in settings.
This isn’t the first time this has happened, and Apple should tackle this issue once and for all so it doesn’t happen again.

Apple has picked up a new habit which it loves forcing on users after some software updates: re-enabling Apple Intelligence.

If you had Apple Intelligence disabled and installed the latest iOS 18.3.2 software update, Apple has automatically turned it back on. When you install the update, you’re met with a splash screen about Apple Intelligence, which gives you no other option other than hitting “Continue” and turning on Apple Intelligence.

If you’re looking to disable Apple Intelligence again, or for the first time, luckily, it’s very straightforward to do, and it even saves you storage space.

Apple iPhone 16

This year’s iPhone 16 line blurs the line between the “Pro” and the base-level iPhone by offering a new camera button and the Action Button, alongside the A18 chip.

Brand: Apple
SoC: A18 (3nm)
Display: 6.1-inch 2556 x 1179 pixel resolution Super Retina XDR, 2000 nits, 60Hz
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Ports: USB-C

Apple Intelligence’s third-party hooks are the right direction for phone AI

It’s about issues like personalization, resilience, and privacy.

How to disable Apple Intelligence

Thanks, but no thanks, Apple

Images showing how to turn off Apple Intelligence on iPhone.

Apple Intelligence is Apple’s suite of AI features, released last year alomgside iOS 18.1. It’s only supported on the newest iPhones, including the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple Intelligence is also available on M-series MacBooks and select iPads. Requirements for Apple Intelligence can be found here.

If you’re not interested in Apple Intelligence features, like Notification Summaries, Genmoji, Image Playground, and its AI writing tools, then you can choose to disable them entirely in the settings menu on your iPhone/iPad. Here’s how.

1. Navigate to Settings.

2. Tap Apple Intelligence & Siri.

3. Toggle Apple Intelligence off.

4. Apple Intelligence is now disabled on your iPhone or iPad.

Apple Intelligence does take up about 7GB of storage space, so you will get that back eventually after choosing to disable it. If you’ve recently updated your Mac, Apple Intelligence may have also been re-enabled. If you want to disable Apple Intelligence on a Mac, here’s how:

1. Click the Apple icon at the top left.

2. Select System Settings.

3. Click Apple Intelligence & Siri.

4. Toggle Apple Intelligence off.

5. Apple Intelligence is now disabled on your Mac.

Apple is losing the AI race and might never recover

Apple might have already fallen too far behind to make up the gap.

Apple, please fix this

This isn’t the first time Apple has re-enabled Apple Intelligence

Having to turn off Apple Intelligence again after you’ve already done so is incredibly frustrating, and this isn’t the first time Apple has done this either. With its previous update, iOS 18.3.1, Apple re-enabled Apple Intelligence for users who had already disabled it then as well.

If you disable something on your device, it shouldn’t be automatically re-enabled after an update.

Users had complained about it then, and Apple took no action, and now they’re justifiably complaining about it again with iOS 18.3.2. If you disable something on your device, it shouldn’t be automatically re-enabled after an update. One user on Reddit perfectly summarized it: “What’s the point of an off button if Apple is just going to keep enabling it for you?”

It’s worth noting that some users on Reddit claim it hasn’t happened to them, but based on most of the responses, it still appears to be a widespread issue. For future updates, Apple should tackle this, so it doesn’t happen again. Apple Intelligence is clearly here to stay, and users who aren’t interested shouldn’t have to keep turning it off. Perhaps once Siri finally gets its long-awaited personalized features or becomes more conversational, Apple Intelligence might be worth trying again. But for now, it’s quite underwhelming compared to Google Gemini.