How to Prevent Children From Using Apple Intelligence for Homework
Like every other major tech company, Apple has its own approach to AI-powered text generation. It’s called Writing Tools . He won’t write your essay for you, but he can sharpen your writing by helping you proofread and rewrite the text.
However, a rewrite is a rewrite, and Apple Intelligence performs full-text replacement. What you wrote will disappear and be replaced by something completely new. This may be fine if you’re just editing an email, but it has huge implications if your kids or students are using these tools to edit their assignments.
You may want to disable these features on your family’s iPad or Mac if your children regularly use these devices for homework or online tests. If you’re a teacher and your school uses iMacs or Mac Minis, you’ll probably want to do the same. Third-party apps and websites like ChatGPT are easier to monitor and block, but when technology like this is integrated directly into the operating system, it becomes much more difficult to disable it or even know how to disable it.
Unlike other AI features such as Notification Summary and AI Categories in the Mail app , there is no easy on/off switch for this feature. Of course, you can turn off Apple Intelligence completely, but then you’ll lose useful features like the photo cleanup tool. Luckily, you can still turn off the recording tools, but the catch is that you’ll have to use the content monitoring options, which are usually hidden. Here’s how to completely disable Apple Intelligence recording tools, but before we get to that, let’s look at what exactly they do.
How Writing Tools Work on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Writing tools are available in the iOS and iPadOS 18.1 (or macOS Sequoia 15.1) update for users who have Apple Intelligence enabled on their compatible device.
When text is selected, writing tools will appear in a pop-up menu on iPhone or iPad and in the context menu on Mac. In some apps, like Notes, you’ll even see a dedicated Writing Tools icon in the toolbar.
Once you select the text, you will be able to use AI to quickly correct or rewrite it. At this point, you can rewrite the text in a friendly or professional tone. If it’s a long piece of text, you can ask Apple Intelligence to make it shorter instead. There’s also the option to create a summary of the selected text, which you can then copy or simply replace the text entirely. You can also convert selected text into a list or table.
You can preview your changes directly in your dashboard before you publish them. In the current iOS 18.1 update, rewriting is limited to Apple’s own stock options, but in iOS 18.2, users will be able to use Siri to rewrite text in any way using the Describe Your Change feature.
How to Turn Off Writing Tools on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
As mentioned above, there is a workaround to disable the Writing Tools feature wherever it is available.
Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and go to Screen Time . Then scroll down and select the Content & Privacy Restrictions option. Here, turn on the Content & Privacy Restrictions feature at the top, then go to the Intelligence & Siri menu.
Now select Writing Tools and switch to the Don’t Allow option.
On a Mac, open System Preferences and go to Screen Time in the sidebar. Here, select the Content & Privacy option and make sure the feature is turned on using the switch at the top of the page. Then go to Intelligence & Siri and turn off the Writing Tools feature.
Writing tools will disappear from your iPhone, iPad or Mac. The Writing Tools icon will not appear in the Notes toolbar, nor will it appear in the flyout menu.