Yes—you can turn off several Apple Intelligence behaviors without disabling Apple Intelligence everywhere. On iPhone and Mac, Apple provides separate switches for summaries, Smart Replies, voicemail suggestions, notification summaries, call cards, and Journal writing prompts. Open the settings path for the specific app or behavior, switch it off, and leave other Apple Intelligence features enabled.
For features that do not have an app-level switch, Screen Time can block a broader category such as Writing Tools, image creation, or Intelligence Extensions. Organization-managed devices have additional controls through supervised device management.
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Choose the narrowest control that matches what you want to stop
Apple Intelligence settings operate at three different scopes. Choosing the right scope prevents you from disabling more than necessary and makes it easier to restore a feature later.
| Scope | What it controls | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Individual function | One behavior, such as Messages summaries or Mail Smart Replies | You want Apple Intelligence to remain available elsewhere |
| Feature category | Writing Tools, image creation, or Intelligence Extensions | No app-specific switch exists, or you need a broad restriction |
| Supervised management | Organization-enforced Apple Intelligence and selected app settings | An employer or school administers the device |
Turning off a summary does not disable Writing Tools, image generation, or other Apple Intelligence functions. Conversely, a Screen Time restriction is broader than a single-app switch and may affect many apps at once.
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Quickly match a complaint to the right setting
- If a conversation in Messages is being condensed, use Summarize Messages.
- If the Mail inbox shows condensed message previews, use Summarize Message Previews.
- If Mail is proposing personalized response text, use Personalize Smart Replies.
- If several incoming alerts are grouped into a digest, use Summarize Notifications.
- If alerts are being ranked as especially important, use Prioritize Notifications.
- If Phone is offering help based on a voicemail, use Suggestions in Voicemail.
- If a call displays an Apple Intelligence context card, use Show When Calling on iPhone or the applicable Siri access controls on Mac.
- If Journal is suggesting subjects or ideas, use Get Writing Prompts.
- If text-editing controls appear in a third-party app, look for that app’s own preference first. If there is no switch, Screen Time can restrict Writing Tools across the device, not just that app.
Turn off Apple Intelligence features on iPhone
These paths are from Apple’s current iPhone guide. Menu names can vary with iOS version, language, region, and device model. The Apps section is where newer iOS releases place settings for individual apps.
Disable summaries and replies in Messages and Mail
| Behavior | Path in Settings | Switch to turn off |
|---|---|---|
| Messages summaries | Settings > Apps > Messages | Summarize Messages |
| Mail message-preview summaries | Settings > Apps > Mail | Summarize Message Previews |
| Mail Smart Replies | Settings > Apps > Mail | Personalize Smart Replies |
To change one of these settings, open Settings, tap Apps, choose the app, and locate the named switch. Turn the switch off, then leave the Settings app. There is no separate save button.
Each switch controls only the named behavior. For example, disabling Summarize Messages stops summaries in Messages but does not turn off Mail summaries or notification summaries. Turning off Mail Smart Replies also does not remove summarized previews; those are separate controls in the same Mail settings page.
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Disable notification summaries and priority sorting
- Open Settings.
- Tap Notifications.
- For summaries, open Summarize Notifications and turn off Summarize Notifications.
- To stop Apple Intelligence from ranking some alerts as more important, open Prioritize Notifications and turn off Prioritize Notifications.
These are notification-level controls. They are separate from the summary switches inside Messages and Mail, so disabling one does not automatically disable the others. If you only dislike the ranking of alerts but still want notification digests, turn off prioritization and leave notification summarization on. If you want every alert to appear without a digest, turn off summarization as well.
Disable Phone voicemail suggestions and Call Context cards
| Feature | Path | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Voicemail suggestions | Settings > Apps > Phone | Turn off Suggestions in Voicemail |
| Call Context cards | Settings > Apps > Phone > Apple Intelligence & Siri | Turn off Show When Calling |
The Call Context control removes the cards shown during calls. It does not disable every Siri or Apple Intelligence capability on the phone. Likewise, turning off voicemail suggestions affects the suggestions associated with voicemail; it is not a system-wide Siri shutdown.
If you cannot find the Call Context setting, use the Settings search field for Show When Calling or Call Context. Search results can reveal a setting even when the layout differs from the instructions above, but the label and availability still depend on the installed iOS version and supported device.
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Disable Journal writing prompts
- Open Settings.
- Tap Apps, then Journal.
- Turn off Get Writing Prompts.
This controls whether Journal offers writing prompts. Your existing Journal entries are not described as being deleted by this setting, and turning the option back on later does not require recreating entries.
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Turn off Apple Intelligence features on Mac
macOS places many controls inside each app’s settings window rather than in one central Apple Intelligence page. Quit and reopen an app after changing a setting if an old summary or suggestion remains on screen; the control affects new behavior, while text that has already been generated may remain in the current view until it refreshes.
Messages and Mail
| Behavior | Mac path | Switch |
|---|---|---|
| Messages summaries | Open Messages > Settings | Turn off Summarize Messages |
| Mail message-preview summaries | Open Mail > Settings > Viewing | Turn off Summarize Message Previews |
| Mail Smart Replies | Open Mail > Settings > Composing | Turn off Personalize Smart Replies |
Mail keeps the two controls separate: the Viewing pane controls summarized previews, while the Composing pane controls personalized reply suggestions. Disabling one does not disable the other.
To change Messages, open the Messages app, choose Messages in the menu bar, select Settings, and turn off the summary option. For Mail, open the app first, then use the menu-bar settings and the named tab. These are app settings, not the similarly named notification controls in System Settings.
Notification summaries
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
- Select Notifications.
- Open Summarize Notifications.
- Turn off the feature.
Because this setting is in System Settings, it applies to notification behavior across the Mac. It does not turn off a summary that Messages or Mail creates inside its own window. If both kinds of summaries are unwanted, change the notification setting and the relevant app setting separately.
Phone voicemail suggestions and Journal prompts
| Feature | Path | Switch |
|---|---|---|
| Voicemail suggestions | Phone > Settings > Calls | Turn off Suggestions in Voicemail |
| Journal writing prompts | Journal > Settings > General | Turn off Get Writing Prompts |
These controls are reached from the app’s menu bar. If the Phone or Journal app is not installed or the option is not supported on your Mac, the setting may not appear.
Call Context cards
Apple’s Mac guidance directs you to its Siri app-access customization instructions for Call Context controls rather than listing a dedicated Phone checkbox in the same way as iPhone. If you do not see a Show When Calling option in the Phone settings available on your Mac, use the Siri settings that control the app’s access and suggestions. The exact labels can change between macOS releases.
Broader Siri controls are a different decision
macOS also lets you turn off Siri’s Apple Intelligence capabilities or switch to Siri Classic. Those are system-wide Siri choices. Use them only when you want to change Siri broadly; they are not the first choice for stopping one Messages, Mail, or Journal behavior. A global Siri change can affect other Siri interactions that you did not intend to alter.
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Can you disable Writing Tools in only one app?
Apple says Writing Tools appear in most places where you write, including third-party apps and websites. The consumer documentation does not promise a separate Apple Intelligence switch inside every third-party app.
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First check the app’s own preferences, editor toolbar, or contextual menu. Some apps may offer their own controls, but Apple does not document a universal per-app Apple Intelligence switch that developers must provide. Do not assume that hiding a toolbar button disables the underlying feature.
If an app has no own control, the documented broader option is a Screen Time restriction. That setting blocks the feature category across the device rather than targeting one third-party app. Therefore, it cannot reliably provide a “disable Writing Tools only in this one app” result. It may also affect writing fields in websites and other apps.
Use Screen Time to restrict broader Apple Intelligence categories
On iPhone, Screen Time provides controls for categories that are wider than the individual summary and reply switches. This is useful for a parent, owner, or administrator who wants to prevent an entire class of feature rather than one output in one app.
- Open Settings.
- Tap Screen Time.
- Choose Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Tap Intelligence & Siri.
- Set the relevant category to allow or disallow it.
Apple documents controls for:
- Writing Tools, which affects the system writing assistance available in supported writing fields.
- Image Creation, including Image Playground, Genmoji, and Image Wand.
- Intelligence Extensions, such as the option that enables or blocks an extension like ChatGPT.
Screen Time’s controls are category restrictions, not replacements for the per-function switches. For example, blocking Writing Tools does not specifically turn off Messages summaries, and disabling Image Creation does not disable Mail Smart Replies. If you later allow a category again, any individual switches you previously turned off remain in their prior state.
Use this route when the scope is intentional. If you only want to stop Writing Tools in a single writing app, applying the Screen Time restriction is likely more disruptive than the original problem because it affects supported writing locations across the device.
Controls on supervised organization-managed devices
Organizations can apply additional Apple Intelligence restrictions through declarative device management when the iPhone, iPad, or Mac is supervised. Apple Platform Deployment lists minimum versions of iOS/iPadOS 26.4 and macOS 26.4 for this configuration and published that guidance on September 17, 2026.
The managed configuration supports global Apple Intelligence switches as well as app settings for:
- Calendar: controls related to natural-language editing in Calendar and Reminders.
- Mail: summaries and Smart Replies.
- Notes: transcription and transcription summaries.
- Safari: summaries.
These settings require supervision. A device-management service may present or implement the controls differently, so an employee or student may not see the same switches as an unmanaged personal device. If a setting is locked by your organization, contact the administrator rather than attempting to override it.
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Managed controls are distinct from a user’s personal Screen Time choices. An administrator can enforce a setting, and the device may show it as unavailable or may change it again after a management update. The organization can also apply a global restriction even when a consumer guide documents only selected app-level controls.
Why a setting may be missing
Unsupported hardware or operating system
Apple Intelligence availability depends on the device, operating-system version, language, and region. Apple’s current iPhone guide says iOS 27 or later requires an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or iPhone 16 model or later. Older hardware may not show the switches at all.
On Mac, the same principle applies: a compatible Mac and supported macOS release are required before an Apple Intelligence control can appear. Updating an unsupported Mac will not add a feature that the hardware cannot run.
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Language or regional availability
Features and labels can vary by language and region. If another language is selected for Siri or the device, a feature may be unavailable or appear under a different name. Check both the device language and Siri language when a documented option is absent.
Different platform instructions
An iPhone path under Settings > Apps does not translate directly to macOS. On Mac, look first in the app’s own menu, such as Messages > Settings or Mail > Settings. Conversely, a control in iPhone’s Settings app may not exist as a standalone Mac preference.
Managed-device restrictions
Supervised devices can hide, enforce, or centrally control options. The absence of a switch may be intentional policy rather than a malfunction. A work or school administrator can also use a different management interface from the consumer Settings app.
Similar features have similar names
Apple uses “summary,” “priority,” “suggestion,” and “writing prompt” for different surfaces. Before troubleshooting, identify where the output appears: inside an app, in a notification, during a call, or in a writing field. Changing a similarly named option in the wrong location will not affect the behavior you are seeing.
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- Confirm that you are changing the correct behavior: an app summary, a notification summary, a Smart Reply, a voicemail suggestion, a call card, or a writing prompt.
- Check the platform-specific path; iPhone and Mac do not use identical menus.
- Install the current operating-system update supported by your hardware, then check the setting again.
- Verify device language and region if Apple Intelligence features are unexpectedly unavailable.
- For third-party Writing Tools, look for an app’s own preferences first; if none exists, use the Screen Time category restriction and understand that it affects more than one app.
- On a work or school device, ask the administrator whether supervision enforces the feature.
- After changing a setting, close and reopen the affected app or notification view so an already displayed result is not mistaken for a newly generated one.
- Test the exact surface again: send or receive a new message, open a new Mail preview, or wait for a new notification rather than judging only from old content.
What happens after you switch a feature off?
The selected behavior stops being offered in the relevant app or notification surface. Other Apple Intelligence functions remain available unless you also disable them or apply a broader Screen Time or management restriction. A setting change is not the same as deleting app data: existing messages, mail, calls, and Journal entries remain in place.
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When several Apple devices use the same account, check each device separately. The iPhone and Mac paths are different, and changing a switch on one platform does not guarantee that an identically named switch on the other platform changed too. Recheck both devices if you want the same experience everywhere.
Because Apple can revise labels and feature availability between releases, recheck the current Settings or app menu after a major OS update. If a switch moves, use the Settings search field and the exact feature name, then verify the result with a new piece of content.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I turn off Apple Intelligence in Messages but keep it on elsewhere?
On iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Messages and turn off Summarize Messages. On Mac, open Messages > Settings and turn off Summarize Messages. This does not disable Apple Intelligence in Mail, Notifications, Journal, or other supported features.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsHow do I turn off Apple Intelligence summaries in Mail?
On iPhone, open Settings > Apps > Mail and turn off Summarize Message Previews. On Mac, open Mail > Settings > Viewing and turn off Summarize Message Previews. Mail Smart Replies are controlled separately under Personalize Smart Replies.
Can I disable Writing Tools in one app?
Apple’s consumer documentation does not promise a universal per-app switch for third-party apps. Check the app’s own preferences first. If no control exists, Screen Time can restrict Writing Tools as a category, but that restriction affects supported writing locations across the device rather than only one app.
What is the difference between notification summaries and Messages summaries?
Messages summaries are controlled inside Messages settings. Notification summaries are controlled under Notifications. They are separate processing surfaces, so turning off one does not automatically turn off the other.
Can I stop Apple Intelligence from prioritizing notifications without disabling summaries?
Yes. On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Prioritize Notifications and turn off Prioritize Notifications. Leave Summarize Notifications enabled if you still want notification digests.
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On iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Apple Intelligence & Siri and turn off Show When Calling. On Mac, Apple directs users to Siri app-access customization settings; the exact label can vary by macOS release.
Why does my iPhone not show these Apple Intelligence switches?
Availability depends on supported hardware, operating-system version, language, and region. Apple’s current iPhone guide says iOS 27 or later requires an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or iPhone 16 model or later. A supervised work or school device may also hide or enforce settings.
Can an organization disable Apple Intelligence in Calendar, Mail, Notes, or Safari?
Yes. For supervised devices, Apple’s declarative device-management configuration includes app settings for Calendar, Mail, Notes, and Safari, along with global Apple Intelligence controls. Apple lists minimum versions of iOS/iPadOS 26.4 and macOS 26.4 for this configuration. Contact the administrator if a managed setting is locked.
The Bottom Line
Use an individual app or notification switch whenever possible: Messages, Mail, Notifications, Phone, and Journal each have documented controls for specific Apple Intelligence behaviors. Use Screen Time only when you intentionally want to restrict a whole category such as Writing Tools, image creation, or Intelligence Extensions. On supervised work or school devices, organization management may override personal settings. If a control is missing, check your device, OS, language, region, platform, and management status before assuming the feature cannot be disabled.
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