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How to Disable Writing Tools, Image Playground, and Notification Summaries on macOS

Use Screen Time to restrict Writing Tools and Image Playground independently, then manage notification summaries globally or app by app in Notifications.
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You can disable Writing Tools and Image Playground separately through Screen Time, then switch off notification summaries in Notifications. The controls are independent, so you can restrict either Apple Intelligence feature without disabling the other, and turn off summaries globally or only for selected apps.

Before you start

These controls apply when the relevant features and settings are available on your Mac. Apple notes that Apple Intelligence availability depends on supported devices, languages, and regions, and that menus can vary by macOS version and language. If a setting below is missing, check your Mac’s installed macOS version and whether Apple Intelligence is supported for your device and region. See Apple’s Screen Time guide and Writing Tools guide.

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Turn off Writing Tools

  1. Open System Settings and select Screen Time in the sidebar.
  2. Open Content & Privacy. If restrictions are off, enable them.
  3. Select Intelligence & Siri.
  4. Turn off Writing Tools.

Apple says Writing Tools are available in most places you write, including third-party apps and websites. The Screen Time restriction controls the system-provided feature broadly; it is not an individual app setting. See Apple’s description of Writing Tools on Mac.

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Turn off Image Playground

  1. In System Settings, go to Screen Time > Content & Privacy and enable restrictions if needed.
  2. Select Intelligence & Siri.
  3. Turn off Image Creation.

The setting is called Image Creation, not Image Playground. Apple says this restriction covers image creation features such as Image Playground and Genmoji. Image Wand is currently an iPhone and iPad feature, not a Mac feature. Details are in Apple’s Screen Time guide.

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Turn off notification summaries

Disable summaries for all apps

  1. Open System Settings > Notifications.
  2. Select Summarize Notifications.
  3. Turn off the master Summarize Notifications control.

Disable summaries for selected apps

  1. Leave the master Summarize Notifications setting on.
  2. Return to System Settings > Notifications.
  3. Under Application Notifications, select the app you want to change.
  4. Turn off that app’s Summarize notifications setting.

Apple documents both the master switch and per-app controls in its notification summaries guide for Mac. These steps concern notification summaries; summaries or features inside individual apps such as Mail or Messages have separate settings.

Which settings should you change?

What you want to restrict Setting Effect
Writing Tools Screen Time > Content & Privacy > Intelligence & Siri > Writing Tools Restricts Writing Tools separately from image creation features.
Image Playground and related image creation Screen Time > Content & Privacy > Intelligence & Siri > Image Creation Restricts image creation features such as Image Playground and Genmoji.
Notification summaries in every app Notifications > Summarize Notifications Turns off summaries globally.
Notification summaries in chosen apps Notifications > Application Notifications > [app] Turns off that app’s summaries while leaving the master setting enabled.

For Macs managed by an organization

Organizations can also control some Apple Intelligence features through Apple’s declarative device configuration. Apple’s deployment guide lists Allow Writing Tools and Allow Image Playground, requires supervised devices, and gives macOS 26.4 as the minimum supported version for that configuration. This is an administrator route for eligible managed deployments, not the usual personal-Mac workflow. Administrators should verify their enrollment method and OS support in Apple Platform Deployment.

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