I Figured Out How to Disable IOS 26’s Annoying New Screenshot Features
In iOS 26, Apple expanded the Visual Intelligence feature from the camera to the screen . Now you can use Visual Intelligence to ask anything about what’s on your screen, add events to your Calendar, or search for images using Google (similar to Google’s Circle to Search). It’s all pretty cool, but it comes with a redesigned full-screen screenshot splash screen.
When all you want to do is take a quick screenshot, the sight of that big splash screen and all those new AI buttons can quickly become boring. Plus, you might not want Apple Intelligence to see what’s on your screen (which it will now do automatically), no matter how useful these updates might be.
Luckily, you can disable the new splash screen and go back to the old thumbnail preview method. Plus, you can still activate Visual Intelligence if needed, even when using thumbnails.
What You Can Do with the New Visual Intelligence
Since the iOS 18.2 update , you’ve been able to use ChatGPT to ask questions about what’s on your screen. But with iOS 26 (currently available as a developer beta and soon to be released as a public beta), Apple is introducing Automatic Visual Look Up. This new feature automatically analyzes your screenshot the second it’s taken. It then extracts relevant, useful information and adds it below the screenshot.
For example, if your screenshot is a party invitation, it will show you a button to add it to your calendar with one tap. If your screenshot is a website, you’ll see a link to go directly to it. There’s also a feature that lets you highlight any image to find similar images on Google, just like you would with Circle to Search or Google Lens .
How to Disable the Visual Intelligence Fullscreen Splash Screen
If you use this new full-screen option to take screenshots, you’ll have to double-tap to save the screenshot each time you take one. You’ll first have to tap the checkmark button at the top of the screen, then select “Save to Photos.” That’s a big change from what used to be an instant process.
Luckily, Apple has an option to disable the new screensaver. To revert to the old method, go to Settings > General > Screen Capture and turn off the Full Screen Previews option.
Now, when you take a screenshot, you’ll see the familiar thumbnail preview in the bottom-left corner of your screen. Better yet, you can still tap the preview to open a full-screen view, which will then show you all of your visual intelligence suggestions.
How to Disable Automatic Visual Intelligence in Screenshots (or in General)
If you care about privacy, there are two ways to disable Visual Intelligence. The first is to disable Automatic Lookup, which scans your screenshot immediately after you take it.
To disable this feature, go to Settings > General > Screen Capture and turn off Automatic visual search .
Once you do this, those automatic Visual Intelligence suggestions will disappear. But the chat options with ChatGPT and highlighting for image search will remain. At least they are not automatic, and no data will be sent to Apple servers without your consent or explicit action.
But you can also turn off these options by disabling Apple Intelligence entirely . To do this, go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and turn off Apple Intelligence .