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Apple’s forcing your iPhone to turn Apple Intelligence on again

Apple Intelligence & Siri screen on an iPhone 16 Pro
Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

If you had previously disabled Apple Intelligence,  you might want to double-check your settings. The latest iOS update looks to have re-enabled the service for many users, just like previous updates — a bug that has bothered Apple users since it began.

Disabling Apple Intelligence can clear up as much as 7GB of data on your iPhone, and for users with less storage capacity, that’s nothing to scoff at. Suddenly losing that much storage to an optional feature is an annoyance, but you can disable it again. You just have to repeat the process in your settings.

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The update to iOS 18.3.2 was a necessity, as it contained a security fix that left your phone vulnerable to intrusion. If you haven’t updated yet, it’s a good idea to do so as soon as possible. Just remember to disable Apple Intelligence after you’re done. It’s as simple as going into SettingsApple Intelligence and flipping the toggle.

Apple's Craig Federighi discussing Apple Intelligence at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024.
Apple

The update also applies to iPads — as does the potential to save space — so if your iPad is compatible with Apple Intelligence, you’ll need to adjust your settings there as well.

With any luck, Apple will change its update strategy so your device retains the same settings as before the update. It’s also possible that Apple Intelligence has to be reenabled for the update to be properly applied, but again, it seems a relatively trivial matter for the update to remove it after the necessary changes had been made.

The update itself is small in size — barely over 700MB — so it won’t demand much bandwidth.

Patrick Hearn
Patrick has written about tech for more than 15 years and isn't slowing down anytime soon. With previous clients ranging from…
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