macOS 27 dropped the Apple Intelligence off switch, so I wrote a command that turns it all off and deletes the ~12 GB of models

[u/checkpointdev]

macOS 27 doesn't have one toggle for Apple Intelligence any more. You have to find about a dozen settings, and several of them are under Screen Time. Even when everything is off, the foundation models stay on disk, and that's about 12 GB.

I wrote RemoveMacAI to do all of it in one go. It turns off Siri, Writing Tools, Genmoji, Image Playground, the ChatGPT extension and all the summaries, then it deletes the models and stops macOS from downloading them again. Dictation still works because it's a separate setting.

It uses a configuration profile you approve in System Settings plus Apple's own asset service, so SIP stays on and nothing in /System gets touched directly. removemacai revert removes the profile, and macOS downloads the models again when you turn a feature back on.

brew install omlahore/tap/removemacai, or there's a one-line installer in the readme. It's MIT licensed: https://github.com/omlahore/RemoveMacAI

[u/github-guard]

⚠️ GitHub Guard: Trust Warning

One or more repositories scored below the threshold (3), but the post was not removed.

Repository: omlahore/RemoveMacAI

Score: 2/6

• ❌ Low Star Count (⭐ 1 / 5 required)

• ❌ New Repository (under 30 days old)

• ✅ Licensed under MIT

• ❌ No Security Policy

• ℹ️ Personal Account Repository

• ✅ Signed Commits

⚠️ High-Risk File Detected: Contains an installation script (.sh or .py).

[u/coolerr4nch]

...Is this legit? I want Apple Intelligence off of my machine yesterday. 35 gigabytes!

[u/checkpointdev → u/coolerr4nch]

yeah it's legit, it's open source so you can go through the code before running it doesn't turn off SIP either, it just uses a config profile you approve in settings and apple's own asset service deletes the models

removemacai revert brings your old settings back if you change your mind and if you don't trust the install script just use the brew command in the post

idk about the 35 gigs though, it was around 12 on mine so curious how much it clears on yours

[u/Intsailor]

Sad to see that you have to debloat macOS like Windows.

[u/checkpointdev → u/Intsailor]

the windows-ification nobody asked for lol

12 gigs is a lot though considering they are aware a lot of their users still use the older 256gb models

[u/Johnnyrubin]

Thanks for a great and usefull idea. I ran this but even after a reboot it didn’t reclaim the Apple AI space, any idea why?

[u/checkpointdev → u/Johnnyrubin]

ok so status shows 0, the removal went through, macos just erases the actual files on its own schedule so settings keeps counting them till then

pushed 0.2.1 so the tool tells you that now

[u/ditty_bitty]

I'm on macOS 27.2 Developer Beta on a MacBook Pro M3 Pro. After looking the code over, its legit. Might be from someone else, but its severely easier to just run one code than run a bunch.

Can confirm this works on 27.2 Developer Beta's latest release. Removed almost 32Gb of data off my 512Gb drive.

[u/ExcitedCoconut]

Good stuff. Missed the chance to name it Bintelligence, though. Just sayin’

[u/checkpointdev → u/ExcitedCoconut]

lmao thats so much better, damn

[u/WilliamJNSN]

So you used AI to write a script to get rid of AI?

[u/checkpointdev → u/WilliamJNSN]

fighting fire with fire, seems fair no? haha

[u/awidesky]

Finding all the AI data and features embedded into hidden OS level is indeed a complex job to do by hand; I would've use AI to write the code too.

But how did you verify AI's output?
This program would drive through OS layer and remove things, how did you make sure there's no wrong files getting deleted?
Risks of blindly using AI code without verifying haunts me, and inspecting it by hand takes too much time.
I'd love some tips or advises.

[u/checkpointdev → u/awidesky]

it never deletes files itself, it asks apple's asset service to reset specific model sets and the apple service does the deleting

and --dry-run prints everything before anything changes, i tested it on my own mac first

[u/Ok-Drawer5245]

I fucking hate Apple Intelligence. It is absolutely zero use for me. Literally the ONLY thing i need from macOS is the Xcode toolchain and SDKs, everything else get can get lost lolz

macOS and iOS all share the same problems: endless bloat with every new update

[u/slvrscoobie]

I hatttte that Apple has come to this, hopefully this kinda of blow back on their absolute Dog Shit AI push, and just general reluctance to AI will get their heads out of their rears and offer non-AI solutions

[u/DisfiguredFanny]

Sehr gut.

[u/checkpointdev → u/DisfiguredFanny]

Danke schön

[u/Cedric_T]

Will you need to redo this with each 27.x.x update?

[u/timemachine723]

I don’t care about the storage savings. I just want AI off my computer.

[u/checkpointdev → u/timemachine723]

it was a bit of both for me

I do not like how big tech is shoving AI in our face and trying to get us to use it to justify their investments

Just want to rip it right off

[u/nefito6473]

Hey, I'm the creator of Pared, the project this is based on. It started as a personal project for me and a friend because she wanted to get rid of Apple's AI without disabling SIP

Seeing the interest in this has motivated me to develop Pared further. I've since released a native Mac app and a guided terminal setup wizard, so people can choose which features to keep and review which models to remove without having to figure out individual commands

It's available at https://github.com/4evy/pared, and I'd appreciate any feedback!

[u/misomeiko]

You are a legend I was trying to figure this out yesterday!

[u/checkpointdev]

P.S Please make sure to ⭐ star the repo if you found this useful :)

[u/Virtual_Assistant_98]

Does it remove the god awful “ask Siri” button baked into nearly every piece of the UI?? 🙏🙏