A developer reported discovering that Apple Intelligence features were enabled on their macOS 15.3 system and transmitting personal data every 15 minutes, according to a blog post published on their website.
When the user initially found the feature active, Apple provided a setting to disable it. However, after upgrading to macOS 27, the developer discovered that Apple had removed the ability to turn off Apple Intelligence entirely.
According to the account, despite having “Apple Intelligence & Siri” explicitly disabled before upgrading, the features were re-enabled after the update to macOS 27. The user described this as an explicit rejection of their choice.
The developer noted that while Siri could be disabled in settings, multiple Siri processes remained active on the system, “stealing memory and writing data” for undisclosed purposes. The user also found that Apple had moved some controls for Apple Intelligence features into the “Screen Time” restrictions section, which is typically designed for parental controls, making the settings harder to locate.
Beyond the functionality concerns, the user highlighted what they characterized as a broader consent problem within the AI industry. According to the account, AI companies do not adequately respect user choice when users decline to use AI features.
The developer also noted that the Apple Intelligence features consumed approximately 22.28 GB of disk storage. They calculated this represented a significant cost given Apple’s pricing of £500 per terabyte on new MacBooks.
The incident prompted the developer to reflect on broader concerns about the AI industry’s approach to consent and privacy. They cited recent headlines including lawsuits against OpenAI and reports of child sexual abuse material persisting on X, arguing these represent systemic problems in how AI companies operate.
Key facts
- Apple removed the toggle to disable Apple Intelligence in macOS 27, despite users having previously disabled it
- Apple Intelligence features automatically re-enabled after the update and were consuming 22.28 GB of storage space
- Multiple Siri processes remained active even after being disabled, according to the user
- Apple relocated some AI-related controls to Screen Time settings, making them less visible to users