iOS 18.4 Again Reactivates Apple Intelligence Automatically. Here's How to Turn It Off

Apple really wants you to use Apple Intelligence to an almost annoying degree. Sure, the new iOS 18.4 update adds a welcome Prioritize Notifications feature that I've found helpful, but it also includes non-AI features and the usual assortment of security and bug fixes. The problem is that even if you previously turned off Apple Intelligence, this update turns it back on. The same applies to iPad OS 18.4 and MacOS Sequoia 15.4.
I won't hold it against you if you want to pass on Apple's AI tech for now. It is, after all, still technically in beta -- which is no doubt why it's annoying that Apple Intelligence is getting turned back on. Message summaries can be dodgy, generated images are unpredictable and the promised leap in Siri's capabilities has been officially pushed back.
Turning off Apple Intelligence is easy, though, whether you're turning it off completely or selectively switching off individual features.
See also: Did a well-meaning friend send you a message about Apple Intelligence possibly reading your private information? I explain what's actually going on.
Since the first Apple Intelligence features rolled out in iOS 18.1, some people have chosen to opt out of the new technology. Tools such as Image Playground, Genmoji and message summaries can use up to 7GB of your device's internal storage -- a sizable chunk, especially if you tend to run against the upper limit of its free space.
Even if storage is not an issue, you just may not be interested in Apple's set of AI features. According to a new survey by SellCell, 73% of Apple users think AI adds little to no value to the experience. In a separate survey, CNET found that 25% of smartphone owners aren't interested at all.
Or, honestly, you may not want to deal with features that are creating inaccurate summaries or that can be replicated without Apple Intelligence.
The good news is that it's easy to turn off Apple Intelligence entirely. Or if you'd prefer to pick and choose, you can selectively disable some of the features. Doing so also lets you reclaim the storage it's using.
I'm not an AI crank -- I appreciate features such as notification summaries and the Clean Up tool in the Photos app. And yet, Apple Intelligence is also a work in progress, an evolving set of features that Apple is heavily hyping while gradually developing. I wouldn't hold it against you if you wanted to not be distracted or feel like you're doing Apple's testing for them (that's what the developer and public betas are for).
Remember that Apple Intelligence works only on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16E, iPhone 16 Pro or M-series Macs and iPads (plus the newest iPad mini).
Here's what you need to know about disabling it.
If you're concerned about the storage requirements of Apple Intelligence, you can find out how much the system is using by going to Settings > General > iPhone (or iPad) Storage > iOS (or iPadOS).
Note that even after turning off Apple Intelligence, that storage still shows up in the iOS Storage list. However, I was able to confirm that if the phone's storage fills up and the system needs that now-inactive space, iOS reclaims what it needs.
Open Settings (iPhone or iPad) or System Settings (Mac) and choose Apple Intelligence & Siri. Then turn off the Apple Intelligence option. Confirm your choice in the dialog that appears by tapping Turn Off Apple Intelligence.
Here's what you lose:
Writing tools
Notification summaries
Visual Intelligence (on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro)
Genmoji (on iPhone and iPad; it's not available yet on Mac)
Image Playground -- the app remains, but you can't create new images.
ChatGPT support for Siri
Image Wand in the Notes app
(Curiously, the Clean Up tool in Photos sticks around even when Apple Intelligence is turned off, perhaps because the first time you use it the app downloads resources for it and holds onto them.)
Maybe you're finding some Apple Intelligence features helpful while others are annoying (or just highly amusing). You can turn off specific features in the settings for apps to which they apply.
For example, to disable text summaries in Messages notifications, go to Settings > Apps > Messages and switch off the Summarize Messages option.
Some features are not as app-specific. Writing Tools, which use Apple Intelligence to proof or rewrite text, appear as an option when you select text, regardless of the app. To turn that off, you need to disable Apple Intelligence system-wide.
Also note that nearly every app includes an Apple Intelligence & Siri option in Settings, with a Learn from this App option (turned on by default). That applies just to whether Apple Intelligence and Siri can monitor how you use it to make suggestions; it doesn't affect any particular Apple Intelligence features.
Another option for restricting what Apple Intelligence can do is buried in the Screen Time settings. Screen Time is designed to control which apps and features can run on another device, such as the iPhone used by a child in your household. But it's also helpful for tracking how much time you're spending on the device and, in this case, turning off some components of Apple Intelligence.
Open the Settings app and go to Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
Turn on the Content & Privacy Restrictions option if it's not already enabled. If this is the first time you're flipping this switch, don't worry -- everything is allowed by default.
Tap Intelligence & Siri.
Tap on the following three features and decide whether to allow or don't allow their use: Image Creation (such as Image Playground and Genmoji), Writing Tools and the ChatGPT Extension (which uses ChatGPT to process requests that are beyond the built-in Apple Intelligence capabilities).
For more on iOS 18.3, see how the Mail app sorts messages into categories and if you haven't upgraded already, make a good backup first.

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