macOS 27 dropped the toggle that let earlier releases turn off Apple Intelligence and delete its models, and RemoveMacAI puts that ability back. The models aren't small: Apple lists up to 14GB on M3 and newer Macs with at least 12GB of memory and up to 8GB on the rest, while MacRumors measured 20.67GB on an M4 Pro Mac mini and Ars Technica 22.42GB on an M3 MacBook Air. Apple may have to bring official removal back to protect Mac sales, by 9to5Mac's reading.
RemoveMacAI is a Mac app and command-line tool from developer Om Lahore that turns off Apple Intelligence, deletes its on-device models through Apple's own asset service, and stops macOS from downloading them again. A configuration profile points those downloads at a closed local port, and System Integrity Protection stays on throughout.
Key facts
| Runs on | Apple silicon Macs, tested on macOS 27.0 and 27.0.1 |
|---|---|
| Removes | Apple Intelligence models, plus optional analytics, ad, and pop-up tweaks |
| Undo | removemacai revert, or Undo Everything in the app |
| License | Open source, MIT |
iPhoners on a 256GB MacBook feel the storage hit most. Organizations that ban AI tools are the other pressure: Daring Fireball, quoted by 9to5Mac, says those places "aren't allowing Golden Gate at all until and unless Apple Intelligence can be removed." Apple's device management can restrict some features, per its support documentation, but it can't switch all of Apple Intelligence off.
What works
- One command or one preset (Recommended, or Maximum privacy) turns Apple Intelligence off and clears the models
- Every setting's previous value goes into a journal first, so undo restores exactly what was there
What to know
- Visual Intelligence and natural-language Calendar editing stop working with Apple Intelligence off, per the README
- Some settings can reset after a macOS update and need reapplying
- Storage settings may keep listing Apple Intelligence for a while after the models are gone
Rerouting Apple's downloads to a dead port is a clever fix, and it's still a fix someone has to maintain. I'd rather Apple put the old toggle back than have Mac owners depend on one developer keeping pace with every point release.
