How to Switch Off Apple Intelligence Features and Win Back Storage

Apple Intelligence arrived as a bundle of tools, and many of them rely on language models that live on the device itself. That is good for privacy, but it also means the features can claim storage whether or not you ever touch them. For anyone working with a phone or laptop that is already running low on space, the footprint is worth a look.

The bluntest option is the master switch. On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, choose Apple Intelligence & Siri, and turn the feature off. On a Mac, the same control sits in System Settings under Apple Intelligence & Siri. Once it is off, check the Storage section of your settings to see whether the space has been released. Menu names and layouts shift between operating system releases, so if the labels don't match what you see, search the settings app for "Apple Intelligence" instead.

If you would rather keep some of the features, you can be more selective. Individual tools such as Writing Tools, Image Playground, Genmoji, notification summaries and Visual Intelligence can be switched off one at a time, so you can drop the ones you never use and keep the rest. This approach makes most sense if you use a handful of features regularly and just want the unused ones out of the way.

There are trade-offs. Siri and some built-in apps will lose the summaries and suggestions they gained, and anything you had tuned to rely on those tools will behave differently. It is also worth restarting the device after making changes, which helps the system finish cleaning up.

The bottom line is that you don't have to accept the default setup. A few minutes in the settings can tell you what Apple Intelligence is actually costing you in storage, and whether the features it brings are worth that cost to you.