Apple Intelligence brings a wave of AI features to iPhone and iPad: notification summaries, message summaries, writing tools, image creation, and a ChatGPT extension for Siri. They are impressive, but they are not for everyone. Some people find the summaries unreliable, others worry about battery life, and some simply prefer their devices the old-fashioned way. The good news is that you can switch the whole thing off — or disable individual features while keeping the rest.
Start with the nuclear option. To turn Apple Intelligence off completely, open Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and switch off the Apple Intelligence toggle at the top. Everything AI-powered stops working, and iOS removes the on-device models, freeing several gigabytes of storage. Note that Apple doesn’t let you selectively disable every feature from one screen — but the headline features each have their own switch, covered below.
How to turn off Apple Intelligence features individually
- Turn off everything at once. Go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and toggle off Apple Intelligence. Confirm when prompted — this is the fastest route to a completely AI-free device.
- Disable notification summaries. Go to Settings > Notifications > Summarize Notifications and switch it off entirely, or leave the master switch on and disable summaries per app.
- Turn off message summaries. Open Settings > Apps > Messages and switch off Summarize Messages so your texts appear exactly as written.
- Stop Mail summarizing previews. Go to Settings > Apps > Mail and turn off Summarize Message Previews to see the original first lines of your emails again.
- Disconnect the ChatGPT extension. In Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri, tap ChatGPT and switch it off so Siri never routes requests to ChatGPT.
- Restrict creative features with Screen Time. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Intelligence & Siri and disallow Image Creation, Writing Tools, and Intelligence Extensions.
- Delete the Image Playground app. Touch and hold its icon and delete the app if you want no generative images on the device at all.
Keep in mind that Apple doesn’t expose a toggle for every minor AI enhancement; some smaller conveniences are bundled into the main switch, so all-or-nothing is the only way to be thorough. On iPad the steps mirror iPhone exactly. If you are generally trimming back iOS automation, see our guide on how to turn off all SharePlay features on iPhone, or how to completely block iOS 26 updates on iPhone to stay on your current version.
If it still doesn’t work
If a feature keeps working after you switched it off, restart your iPhone or iPad and check the toggle again — some AI features take a moment to wind down. Also check the right location: notification summaries live under Settings > Notifications, not under Apple Intelligence & Siri. For official documentation, see Apple’s support pages, and MacRumors tracks how these settings change with each iOS release.
Frequently asked questions
Does turning off Apple Intelligence free up storage?
Yes. Disabling it removes the on-device AI models, freeing several gigabytes of storage on your iPhone or iPad.
Can I disable just one Apple Intelligence feature?
For the headline features — summaries, ChatGPT, image creation, and writing tools — yes, each has its own switch. But Apple doesn’t expose a toggle for every minor enhancement.
Conclusion
Whether you want Apple Intelligence gone entirely or just want to silence summaries and the ChatGPT extension, you have the tools: one master switch under Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri, plus granular controls for summaries, Mail, Messages, and creative features. Turn off what annoys you, keep what helps, and enjoy the extra free storage.
