Mac users can now delete Apple Intelligence and reclaim up to 12GB of storage

Apple Intelligence may be one of the biggest new features on Macs, but not everyone wants to use it. And for those who want storage space on their Mac rather than Apple’s AI features, a new open-source tool offers a simple way to disable them. It is called RemoveMacAI, the command-line tool can switch off Apple Intelligence, delete its AI models and stop macOS from downloading them again.

As spotted by MacRumors, the developer behind RemoveMacAI explained on Reddit that macOS 27 no longer has the one toggle that previously let users turn off Apple Intelligence. Instead, users now have to disable several AI features separately. Even after doing that, however, Apple's foundation models can remain stored on the Mac and take up around 12GB of space.Why does Apple Intelligence need so much space

The reason is that Apple Intelligence does not rely entirely on the cloud. Several of its AI features use models that are downloaded and stored on the Mac so that certain tasks can run locally. This includes features such as Writing Tools, Genmoji, Image Playground and parts of Siri.

That can be a big deal for Mac users with 256GB of storage, especially because Macs generally do not offer a way to upgrade the internal storage later. Giving up 12GB or more for AI features you never use may not sound ideal when storage is already limited.

According to its developer, the tool disables Apple's AI features, removes the downloaded models and prevents the system from downloading them again. It does this without asking users to turn off System Integrity Protection or manually delete protected system files.

The developer also says that Dictation will continue to work because it is controlled separately. And if users change their mind later, a removemacai revert command can undo the changes and allow the AI models to return.There is a catch

RemoveMacAI is not an official Apple tool. The developer has also warned that some of the configuration-profile restrictions it relies on were deprecated by Apple in macOS 26.4. They currently work on macOS 27.0.1, but that could change with a future update.

So, if you barely use Apple Intelligence and are desperate for some extra storage, you may consider RemoveMacAI. But it comes with a fairly big trade-off: no Apple Intelligence features until you revert the changes.- EndsAlso Read | Sam Altman says world should accept some bad things for AI benefitsAlso Read | OpenAI is adding secret watermark to ChatGPT and Codex, here is what it means for youAlso Read | Ex-Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon warns AI could get out of control and end humanity

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