Remove Apple Intelligence and get your disk space back
macOS 27 removed the master off-switch, turns Siri AI on by default, and keeps the on-device models on disk even after you disable every feature — between 8 GB and 30 GB on real machines. This guide turns it all off, deletes the models, and stops macOS downloading them again. Fully reversible.
Before you start
- You have an Apple silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3 or later) running macOS 27.x. The automated tool is tested on 27.0; on 27.0.1 use release 0.2.3 or later. macOS 26 and earlier are not affected and not supported.
- Check how much space it is taking: System Settings → General → Storage → macOS → ⓘ and note the Apple Intelligence figure so you can compare afterwards.
- Understand the trade-off: removing the models disables Siri, Writing Tools, Genmoji, Image Playground and friends. Full list below. Dictation keeps working.
The manual method deletes files inside a system volume from Recovery Mode. Make a Time Machine backup before you start. The automated method only talks to Apple's own asset service, leaves SIP enabled and never modifies /System directly, but a backup is still cheap insurance.
The one-command way: RemoveMacAI
RemoveMacAI is an open-source (MIT) command-line tool. It switches every Apple Intelligence feature off, removes the downloaded models through Apple's asset service, installs a configuration profile that redirects model downloads to a closed local port, and can undo the whole thing. Every release is built by GitHub Actions from its tag and carries build provenance — see the verification step below.
1 · Install and run (Homebrew)
brew install omlahore/tap/removemacai
removemacai…or run without installing anything
The install script downloads the latest release into a temporary directory, verifies its SHA-256 checksum, and runs it from there. Nothing stays installed.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/omlahore/RemoveMacAI/main/install.sh | bash2 · Approve the profile
The tool shows the current state and asks for confirmation, then opens System Settings so you can approve its configuration profile (macOS requires this manual approval). Once approved, the features are switched off and the models are deleted.
3 · Useful commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
removemacai status | List every feature and the size of the models still on disk — run this before and after. |
removemacai off --dry-run | Show exactly what would change, without changing anything. |
removemacai off --keep siri | Remove everything but keep the listed feature on. Run removemacai features for accepted names. |
removemacai revert | Undo everything. macOS re-downloads models when a feature needs them. |
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/omlahore/RemoveMacAI/main/install.sh | bash -s revert4 · (Optional) Verify the binary's provenance
gh attestation verify removemacai-darwin-arm64.tar.gz -R omlahore/RemoveMacAIThe manual way: Recovery Terminal
No third-party software. This is the procedure documented independently by AppleInsider's hands-on test — you boot into macOS Recovery, mount your Data volume, and delete the main model folder by its exact name.
1 · Measure and switch Siri AI off
- Note the Apple Intelligence figure in System Settings → General → Storage → macOS → ⓘ.
- Go to System Settings → Siri and click Turn Off Siri. The per-app toggles do not delete models; this is just the cleanest starting state.
- In System Settings → Wi-Fi → Details for your current network, turn on Low Data Mode — beta testers report macOS can immediately re-download deleted models without it.
2 · Boot into Recovery and mount the Data volume
- Shut down the Mac, then press and hold the power button until “Loading startup options” appears.
- Choose Options → Continue, pick your admin user.
- Open Disk Utility → View → Show All Devices, select your Data volume and click Mount (enter your password if prompted). Note its mount point — it is usually
/Volumes/Databut confirm yours before typing any command. - Quit Disk Utility, then open Utilities → Terminal.
3 · Confirm the folder, then delete it
First verify the folder exists at the path you expect — this command should print one matching path:
ls -ld /Volumes/Data/System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_UAF_FM_GenerativeModelsOnly if the path matches, delete that exact folder (in tests it measured ~23 GB):
rm -rf /Volumes/Data/System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_UAF_FM_GenerativeModelsDo not use wildcards (*). Do not delete the neighboring Visual or Overrides folders. Do not copy the path blindly — if your Data volume has a different name, substitute it. If FileVault needs unlocking from Terminal, unlock the correct identifier shown in Disk Utility first, e.g. diskutil apfs unlockVolume disk3s5 (your identifier will differ).
4 · Restart and verify
Reboot normally and recheck the Storage pane. The AppleInsider test machine went from 27.59 GB to 3.07 GB attributed, with about 14 GB of free space actually regained. The Storage figure can lag for days — macOS deletes the files on its own schedule even though the asset service releases them immediately.
What keeps working, what stops
✓ Keeps working
- Dictation — separate speech models, not removed
- Spotlight search (its window runs under a process literally named “Siri” in macOS 27 — that is normal)
- Everything else in macOS that is not listed on the right
✕ Turned off / removed
- Siri, “Hey Siri”, menu-bar icon
- Writing Tools, inline text predictions
- Genmoji & Image Playground
- ChatGPT extension
- Smart summaries & replies in Mail, Messages, Safari, Notes, Notifications
- Spatial Photos, Photos Clean Up
- Xcode predictive completion
- Apps using the Foundation Models framework, the “Use Model” Shortcuts action, Visual Intelligence, natural-language Calendar editing
How much space is actually at stake
Apple quotes up to 14 GB on M3-or-later Macs with 12 GB unified memory and up to 8 GB on other supported Macs. Independent measurements since macOS 27 shipped run much higher — on a 256 GB MacBook Air or Mac mini this is 5–12% of the entire drive.
| Source | Machine | Measured footprint |
|---|---|---|
| Apple (requirements) | M3+ with ≥12 GB RAM | up to 14 GB |
| Apple (requirements) | other supported Macs | up to 8 GB |
| MacRumors | Mac mini M4 Pro | 20.67 GB |
| Ars Technica (via report) | MacBook Air M3 | 22.42 GB |
| AppleInsider hands-on | 27.59 → 3.07 GB after removal | ~14 GB regained |
| Reddit user report | M3 Pro MacBook Pro | up to 30.16 GB |
Breakdown on the dissected machine: GenerativeModels ~23 GB, Visual ~2.9 GB, Overrides ~6.8 MB. Figures vary by chip and build.
Questions people actually ask
Will a macOS update undo this?
With Method A, no — the configuration profile, including the download block, persists across updates. With the manual method, keep Low Data Mode on; testers have seen macOS re-download missing models once it is turned off. Run removemacai status (or re-check the Storage pane) after any 27.x update and re-apply if needed.
Why does Storage still list Apple Intelligence after deletion?
The asset service releases the models immediately, but macOS deletes the files and updates the Storage breakdown on its own schedule — it can take several days. Free disk space grows before the Storage category fully catches up.
I see a process named “Siri” still running. Did it fail?
No. In macOS 27 the Spotlight window runs as a process named Siri, and some SIP-protected system services stay loaded regardless. This is expected and does not mean the models returned.
Can I keep Siri but remove everything else?
With the tool: removemacai off --keep siri. Run removemacai features to see every feature name accepted by --keep.
Intel Mac? macOS 26 or earlier?
The tool requires Apple silicon and macOS 27. Apple Intelligence never installed the large on-device model set on unsupported Macs or older OS versions, so there is nothing of this size to remove there.
Is piping a curl script safe? What about the manual commands?
You can read the whole script at the upstream repository before running it; it downloads a checksum-verified release built with GitHub Actions provenance, makes no network calls at run time and collects no data. The Homebrew route installs the same binary. The manual Recovery method is more dangerous by nature — stay inside Recovery, use the exact folder name with no wildcards, and keep your Time Machine backup current.
What if Apple adds an official remove button in 27.1?
Then use it — this page will note it at the top. As of the latest 27.0.x builds there is no documented way to remove the models through System Settings, which is exactly why these workarounds exist.
Changelog
2026-10-05 — Initial guide. Method A tracks RemoveMacAI (MIT); notes the 27.0.1 requirement of release 0.2.3+. Manual procedure cross-checked against AppleInsider's Recovery test. This page is updated whenever a macOS 27.x build or an upstream release changes the steps.