Ask HN: Is it impossible to disable Siri on macOS 27?

hckrnws

Ask HN: Is it impossible to disable Siri on macOS 27?

153

by semidror

I disabled Siri in the Settings app, and then further disabled Siri and its extensions in Settings > Screen Time.

Next, I disabled all Siri-related and Apple Intelligence-related services as per https://github.com/OleksandrKrupko/mac-os-debloat

But after restarting, I could still see a "Siri" process running in Activity Monitor. Upon further inspection, I found that it is the "Siri AI.app".

These "features", together with Apple's Personal Context sound very similar to Microsoft's Recall.

Does anyone have the same experience? Is it really impossible to fully turn off Siri, Siri AI, Apple Intelligence and all related services and features on macOS 27?

jodrellblank
15d
You should make use of Cunningham's Law[1]. Instead of posting an "Ask HN" asking if it's impossible to disable, post a "Show HN" claiming that it is impossible to disable.
Then people will flock to tell you how it can be disabled by XYZ.
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cunningham%27s_Law
1. anguishe
  04d
  Great advice. I should definitely heed this more often.
nottorp
75d
Just as a note, from what I see the problem is not only the privacy implications but also that the local AI comes with a baggage amounting to 10% of the space on the base mac models. Which is already severely limited.
1. threetonesun
  65d
  I have not found the local/remote hand off to be very reliable either, so tasks that used to be almost instantaneous for Siri are now spinning to the point where I assume they failed. A simple 2 minute timer took almost 30 seconds to set the other day.
galad87
35d
The process that shows the Spotlight UI is now the one called "Siri", previously it was called "Spotlight".
1. semidror • OP
  05d
  Thanks, that's an interesting observation! When I double-clicked on the "Siri" process in Activity Monitor, I saw that it's an app called "Siri AI".
  If the "Siri AI" app has replaced Spotlight, then I wonder if Apple keeps building "personal context" despite Siri and Apple Intelligence being disabled.
  It for sure doesn't sound well to disable Siri and still see a "Siri" process.
chuckadams
95d
I've been daily-driving a mac for 10 years now and I've only ever triggered Siri by accident. I do use it pretty regularly on the phone, mostly to set timers, get directions, and call contacts, but I've been well trained over these years to not expect it to be capable of more than that.
1. lloydatkinson
  35d
  I remember it being pretty useful on phone. Now, it can't even "like" a song when I'm driving and I want it to add a song to my Spotify favourites list. It could do a few months ago, now it refuses with "sorry there was a problem with the app".
  I've had to resort to asking it to take a screenshot so I can go find the song later. Three quarters of the time it never saves the screenshot though, despite seeing the screen flash out of the corner of my eye.
Nata_Elisym
85d
In Screen Time -> Content and Privacy, there's a setting to switch Siri to 'Siri Classic' which strips out the Apple Intelligence-backed behavior specifically.
1. semidror • OP
  75d
  Instead of "Siri Classic", I selected the "Don’t Allow Siri" option, but it didn't help. The "Siri" (Siri AI.app) process keeps running regardless.
kccqzy
35d
There’s the old trick of setting your computer language to be different from the Siri language. I get the following error message when I open Siri in Settings:
> Apple Intelligence requires that Mac and Siri are set to the same language. Currently your Mac is set to English (United States) and Siri is set to English (Canada).
I think at one point they may have removed this limitation but then they reintroduced it in macOS 27.0.
1. semidror • OP
  25d
  Yes, I did something similar: prior to disabling Siri, I set Siri's language to French and kept the system language set to English (UK), but the Siri AI.app ("Siri" process in Activity Monitor) just keeps running despite Siri being indicated as disabled in Settings.
  If you are on macOS 27, could you please open Activity Monitor, search (filter) for "siri" and see if a process called "Siri" is still running?
Shuddown
25d
This is a reddit thread where OP claims to have gotten instructions from Apple Support to remove Apple Intelligence.
https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/1wlm6gd/apple_support_...
1. iAMkenough
  05d
  I like how Apple designed an optional feature that requires you to disable SIP to reclaim storage space.
  If you don't manually delete the files, they remain on your Mac until your storage is nearly full.
Razengan
65d
The final release of 27 still has so many bugs.
It's depressing to see certain bugs persist in each new beta. You know they'll be in release.
I gave up reporting anything years ago.
1. jimbloat
  55d
  I really can't believe how bad it's gotten. I know people on here have been complaining about the direction of macOS for years but in the last few years it increasingly feels like I'm being punished for using my computer.
  A bicycle for your mind with squeaking brakes and a skipping chain.
sklargh
15d
The absolute arrogance of taking up this much disk space for an application that most serious users will simply never engage with. Garbage.
1. toasty228
  05d
  Yeah but siri/apple AI has 100% adoption rate on apple devices ;)
alsetmusic
15d
One workaround that I know would work would be an enterprise profile. I know this because I’m one of the people tasked with blocking AI stuff at my org. How you’d implement this without a subscription to management (MDM) software I leave to you to research. I know it’s possible without proprietary tools because I’ve read about people using profiles to block software updates on their personal computers, but I don’t recall how that’s done.
1. jonathantf2
  05d
  You can just use Apple Configurator to make a .mobileconfig file and apply that, no MDM required.
VCFundedGenYer
05d
I've love to disable Apple Intelligence just to get the space back. It's murdering my Mac Mini.
dosisking
35d
Resistance is futile.
1. andrekandre
  15d
  you will be assimilated
dime
01d
This is the first time ever that I am making a strategic decision to not upgrade MacOS and iOS.
avazhi
75d
Sequoia will be taken from my cold dead hands.
1. semidror • OP
  45d
  Same here. Unfortunately, if you use Xcode to develop for iOS, then Apple basically forces you to install macOS 27 to be able to develop for the new iPhones. The iPhone 18 Pro requires Xcode 27, and Xcode 27 won't run on Sequoia.
  If anyone knows how to make the iPhone 18 Pro work with Xcode 26 on Sequoia, and in turn with iOS 27, I (and I'm sure many other people) would be very happy to hear how!
theguysudo
023h
apple should remove siri its annoying alot and its been useless since 5-6 years google assistant was better than it before llms
wpm
15d
Try disabling any of the launchd tasks related to it, odds are theres a service that starts at boot/login regardless of any user-facing setting that do nothing if they're all turned off (just like iCloud related daemons).
Odds are you'll probably run into something that requires you to disable SIP, like I did when I got tired of mediaanalysisd eating up CPU cycles on a 2018 Mac mini.
1. semidror • OP
  05d
  Thanks, I believe this is what the debloat script mentioned in my post does. I manually executed the `launchctl bootout` and `launchctl disable` commands on all Siri and AI-related services in the https://github.com/OleksandrKrupko/mac-os-debloat/blob/main/... script, but the "Siri" process ("Siri AI.app") still keeps running even after restarting.
  The Siri AI.app is read-only, so I could not even remove it. But perhaps it would be possible to boot into Recovery, mount the system partition as rw and delete the Siri AI.app from the filesystem?
  P.S. I did also disable mediaanalysisd and photoanalysisd, and those are NOT running. However, the Siri AI.app does keep running...
pluc
05d
See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49787535
[deleted]
05d
[deleted]
kdkdkcekckek
05d
Couldn’t it be due to spotlight being entirely replaced by this new Siri AI? Not sure how things work under the hood now.
danfritz
05d
I didn't check it yet but I hope being in EU macOS 27 upgrade is basically small UI tweaks and thats it :D
Still holding off for now
Danox
25d
You can move over to Microsoft and use Copilot or if that isn’t enough, you can buy a new Googlebook laptop.
1. type0
  05d
  Goobledygook laptops would be as much of an abomination as those Windows S laptops
MotoriX
04d
Personally, I think Apple should have gotten rid of Siri a long time ago. It's a pretty useless assistant. They'd be better off integrating Gemini or ChatGPT instead.
throw0101a
05d
Maybe "macOS 27: Workaround to avoid downloading AI models and save storage":
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49787535
Someone
05d
> I could still see a "Siri" process running in Activity Monitor. Upon further inspection, I found that it is the "Siri AI.app".
Is it doing anything (what are its CPU and memory usage like)?
thrance
05d
Garbage like this is why I'm never going back to a proprietary OS. I remember being unable to kill Cortana on Windows (it would automatically restart itself) being the last straw.
seviu
25d
I still have to find anybody using Siri on his Mac
Please tell me what the use case is. Somebody somewhere must find it useful otherwise it would not be so prominent.
This a genuine question btw not trying to be sarcastic or dismissive
1. dwaite
  05d
  Not sure. People are saying "Siri" but complaining about space utilization which I assume is for the foundational models. Those are used pervasively, and are exposed as a resource for third party app usage as well.
  Apple's goal was to have a set of foundational models to discourage proliferation of small bundled models in first and third party software. So ironically, they exist to try to save people disk space.
jzemeocala
65d
if you dont want a car with the hood welded shut.....Dont buy a car with the hood welded shut.
plenty of better operating systems out their
1. victorbjorklund
  25d
  Silly argument. It’s more like buying a BWM and being happy with everything expect a stupid decision like placement of the handbrake. Of course you can complain about it.
teekert
05d
I started de-googling a long time ago, part of it was an iPhone (12 mini), 5 years later I really felt like de-Appling as well. The Appstore is a cesspool, privacy concerns are about the same as Google now (or perhaps always were?).
I went with GrapheneOS. Very good experience, but not without Google Play (store and services). It's all sandboxed, so presumably I'm only leaking consciously chosen data. It's really aimed at security, not so much de-googling. Something like Murena's /e/OS is much more aimed at de-Googling, but as GrapheneOS devs will usually be quick to point out here, they are "quite poor" with their security.
A de-Googled functional appstore on a FairPhone (+ with all the GrapheneOS required security bells and wistles) would be ideal for me. But it's still either optimal security focussed OR de-Googling/de-big-teching focused. Yes there is f-droid, but there are too many apps that require the Google services (like banking).
Atm 1 app does not work, one of my banking apps required the highest tier of Google control. I will happily install on devices that have been years without security updates though :s
Overall the GrapheneOS experience (base launcher etc) is very clean, fast, minimal, ad free.
jdbloodstone
05d
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vancekai
04d
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blueaiprod
05d
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24sharmaa
05d
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