Is Apple Intelligence Using Up Your Mac Storage? Here’s How to Disable It

Apple’s latest operating system updates and its upgraded AI-powered Siri have arrived, but many users are now noticing a new problem: Apple Intelligence is consuming a noticeable amount of local storage. If you are not using the feature, you can turn it off, although recovering that space depends on which version of macOS you have installed.

The reason Apple Intelligence takes up space comes down to privacy. Apple’s AI is designed to process requests on the device instead of sending private data to remote servers. That approach keeps more information local, but it also means the AI models must be stored on the Mac itself, where they can occupy several gigabytes.

How to Check Storage Usage

Before making any changes, check your Mac’s storage breakdown. Open System Settings > General > Storage to review how much space is being used by apps, documents, and photos. Apple does not clearly separate Apple Intelligence usage from other system files, and System Data can include more than just AI-related files, so you may need to estimate how much space the feature is taking.

(Screenshot by PCMag)

How to Turn Off Apple Intelligence on a Mac

Apple does not let users delete the on-device AI files directly, so there is no simple manual removal option. For now, the main workaround is to disable Apple Intelligence or Siri and wait for the system to clear out files it no longer needs.

Disable Apple Intelligence on macOS 26 or Earlier

If your Mac is still running macOS 26 or an earlier version, you can turn off Apple Intelligence by going to System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > Apple Intelligence and switching it off.

Disable Apple Intelligence on macOS 27

On macOS 27, the process is more complicated. You may need to disable Siri and related features one by one. First, turn on Screen Time and use Content & Privacy under its settings to block Siri-related options. Then change Siri to Siri Classic and review the list of Capabilities to disable each feature individually.

(Screenshot by PCMag)

Next, go to System Settings > Siri and choose Don't Allow Siri or Siri Classic, depending on what you want to use.

You may also need to turn off individual Apple Intelligence features, including these common ones:

• Turn off notification summaries: Go to System Settings > Notifications > Summarize Notifications and disable it.

• Turn off message summaries: In System Settings > Messages > Settings, disable Message Summaries.

• Turn off email summaries: In the Mail app, open Mail > Settings > Viewing and turn off Summarize Message Previews.

• Turn off personalized Smart Replies: In the Mail app, go to Mail > Settings > Composing and disable Personalize Smart Replies.

Other Ways to Keep It Off

Another reported workaround is to change Siri’s language or set your Apple account region to one where the feature is not supported. Apple Intelligence currently works only in English and is unavailable in the EU and China. Switching to UK or Irish language settings, or changing the account region, may prevent the device from enabling the AI feature.

Will Turning It Off Free Up Space?

On macOS 26 or earlier, disabling Apple Intelligence should free up storage fairly quickly, though a restart may be needed before the change appears. On macOS 27, however, turning off related features or switching to Siri Classic does not necessarily remove the files right away, since Apple Intelligence and Siri are built into the newer system. Over time, the amount of space used by System Data may shrink, but that is not guaranteed.