Apple’s Latest Update Could Bring You Back to Apple Intelligence
When it comes to Apple Intelligence, you probably either love it or hate it . Either you really like things like Writing Tools and Genmoji , or you despise inaccurate and misleading notification summaries . Not much between them.
Luckily, you don’t have to use Apple Intelligence —if your Apple device can run it at all . Although Apple turns on AI features by default on compatible devices running iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS 15.3, you can easily turn off Apple Intelligence at any time . The bigger problem, however, is that Apple doesn’t seem to respect that choice. Of course, the company presumably wants all of its customers to benefit from its AI features, but that shouldn’t come at the expense of overriding users’ decisions.
Apple Intelligence is automatically turned on for some users
Here’s the situation: Apple released a series of updates to its devices on Monday, including iOS and iPadOS 18.3.1 and macOS 15.3.1, among others. Of these updates, only iOS and iPadOS contained release notes, but it appears the only change contained in each was a single (but important) security patch. Naturally, tech experts (myself included) advised that all compatible Apple devices should be updated as soon as possible.
However, it appears that installing these latest updates has had unintended consequences for some Apple users. As reported by MacRumors , some customers are finding that Apple Intelligence turns back on after updating to the latest software on their Apple device. It seems that if you disabled Apple Intelligence and then updated your device, you may see a “Welcome” screen upon boot, followed by a splash screen introducing Apple Intelligence and its features. This will turn Apple Intelligence back on.
MacRumors was able to confirm this when upgrading a Mac to macOS 15.3.1, but not when upgrading an iPhone or iPad to iOS and iPadOS 18.3.1. Software developer Jeff Johnson encountered the same problems on his Mac , and although his iPhones are not compatible with Apple Intelligence, he gives examples of iPhone users who encountered the same thing on iOS.
This is a good PSA for all the users who have disabled Apple Intelligence: Not only does Apple Intelligence run the risk of annoying users, but it also incurs additional storage costs. This requires at least 7GB of memory, which isn’t a lot , but if you’re short on space and don’t want to use Apple Intelligence, it’s just extra hassle.
How to make sure Apple Intelligence is disabled
The first warning sign should be the appearance of the Apple Intelligence splash screen after updating to iOS 18.3.1, iPadOS 18.3.1, or macOS 15.3.1. This seems to be a sign that Apple Intelligence has turned on again.
However, in any case, you should double check that Apple Intelligence is disabled. To do this, go to Settings ( System Preferences on macOS), then go to Apple Intelligence and Siri . Here, turn off the toggle next to Apple Intelligence . Then select Turn off Apple Intelligence from the pop-up window.