Thread

Turn off and restrict access to Apple Intelligence features on Mac

353 points · 223 comments · alwillis

Lio · 1790018980 · focus · HN ↗
It's great that you can turn all this off but why is it tucked away in Screen Time of all places?
What's the thinking behind that?
1. bel8 · 1790019801 · focus · HN ↗
  Either dark pattern or incompetence. Sometimes both.
  1. benoau · 1790034231 · focus · HN ↗
    I wouldn't underestimate their familiarity with dark patterns, the testimony on how they thwarted third party payments suggests they are well aware of the mechanics.
    > In one model, for example, Apple worked to determine how the “less seamless experience” of using a non-IAP method would lead customers to abandon their transactions. By modeling where this tipping point was, Apple was able to determine when the links would stop being an advantage to developers, which would push them back to using IAP.
    > Apple also found that more restrictive rules around the placement and formatting of the links themselves could reduce the number of apps that decided to implement these outside links.
    > Lawyers suggested Cook himself was involved with how the warning to App Store customers would appear, recommending an update to the text that appears when the external links were clicked. In one version, that link warned customers they were “no longer transacting with Apple.” Later, the link was updated to subtly suggest there could be privacy or security risks with purchases made on the web.
    <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/24/apple-exec-phil-schiller-testifies-that-he-raised-concerns-over-app-store-commissions-on-web-based-sales/" rel="nofollow">https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/24/apple-exec-phil-schiller-t...
2. snazz · 1790026256 · focus · HN ↗
  Seems like they think turning it off is only for kids’ devices. Perhaps they are missing the fact that many adults don’t want it either.
  1. dd8601fn · 1790044200 · focus · HN ↗
    I’m curious what “many” means across billions of people.
    Because I’d guess nearly everyone wants the new Siri to just be there and working.
    snazz · 1790080465 · focus · HN ↗
    I’m not sure. If given the choice in isolation, perhaps most people would be happy to sign up for the new Siri. When it’s a trade-off that requires 25 GB of storage for Apple Intelligence and sticks various unhelpful buttons on the keyboard, maybe fewer people want it.
    And there is certainly also a contingent of young people (especially) who dislike generative AI on ideological/moral/environmental grounds. That group may be overrepresented online, but it does exist.

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