A user has reported that Apple removed the setting permitting users to opt out of a feature collecting personal data after the upgrade to macOS 27. This feature operates every 15 minutes and was previously hidden within settings, allowing it to be disabled. Now, the “no” switch has been removed entirely.
The user first discovered the issue at 9:51am on Wednesday 5th February 2025, when macOS 15.3 had enabled the feature without asking. The user said no and turned it off. Apple, at the time, provided a setting to disable the feature, although that setting was buried deep in the settings menu.
The Upgrade From macOS 15
Last week, the user moved up from macOS 15 to 27, passing over a version that Apple skipped entirely. Apple jumped past 10 major releases with this upgrade, while the user only skipped one version themselves.
The feature, enabled every 15 minutes, was previously hidden in settings but could still be turned off. Now, the setting allowing users to opt out has been removed entirely, according to today’s discovery.
Siri and Apple Intelligence
Siri was turned off, yet several unkillable processes for it persist. They continue to take memory and record data without giving any reason for doing so.
The user discovered the removal of “Apple Intelligence” by digging through macOS 27 settings.
Hidden Settings Under Screen Time
During a web search, the user found that Apple keeps settings under “Screen Time” restrictions. These are meant to be parental controls. They don’t turn off Apple Intelligence, but they do tidy up menus by hiding certain extra tools.
After upgrading to macOS 27, the garbage was enabled even though the user had previously turned “Apple Intelligence & Siri” off. The user contends that this was a clear and unambiguous “no,”.
The Disk Space Cost
The cake’s final flourish is the 22.28 GB brick clogging up disk space. Apple is charging £500 per terabyte on new MacBooks, meaning they’ve taken roughly £11 from me, the user figures.
The cost in question is barely worth mentioning next to the consent issue. The user claims that the AI industrial complex never asks for permission — it will simply be used. It can’t be avoided, it will be forced on you, and if you refuse, you will be told to “no”, or your tongue will be cut out.
The Industry’s Record
The user describes the AI industry as despicable, and claims that their AI policy attempted to outline worries but ultimately ‘s hopelessly outdated, and they can’t keep up with them.
Here’s just three of many headlines collected this month:
- Despite Pledges From Musk, Child Sexual Abuse Material Persists on X
- OpenAI Is Now Facing Over 50 Consumer Harm and Wrongful Death Lawsuits
- OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft
The count of lives lost is without end. There is no ceiling to the human cost required to keep this bubble inflated.
A Foundation of Non-Consent
I admit I am a radical, the user writes, and have chosen not to bow down to billionaires. Do you want another list like Epstein’s? Because this is how you create another Epstein list. Funding a generation of psychopaths who build on a foundation of non-consent and privacy invasion is the result.
Fantastic idea.
AI bros keep telling me “just turn it off,” and when I do they remove the choice.
What Apple Removed
- The setting that lets users opt out of the data-collecting feature
- The “Apple Intelligence” label from the Siri control
The Numbers
| Detail | Amount |
|---|---|
| Feature enabled every | 15 minutes |
| Data collected | Personal data |
| Upgrade skipped | 10 macOS versions |
| “Apple Intelligence & Siri” turned off already | Yes |
| 22.28 GB brick clogging disk space | — |
| £500/TB on new MacBooks | — |
| £11 calculated cost of the space | — |
| Over 50 consumer harm and wrongful death lawsuits against OpenAI | — |
The user’s account of a removed setting is a single person’s experience raises a broader issue: tech companies get to call the shots on what users can step away from and when, and the line between hardware and surveillance blurs as a result.
The user’s account of a removed setting is a single person’s experience, but it lands on a larger concern: when tech companies decide what users can opt out of, and when, the line between hardware and surveillance grows thin.
Source material: “I said no and Apple said yes,” dbushell.com.
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