On Reddit, the RemoveMacAI developer said that the tool is open source and explained in more detail how it works:
It uses a configuration profile that you approve in System Settings plus Apple’s own asset service, so [System Integrity Protection] remains on and nothing in /System is touched directly. removemacai revert removes the profile and macOS downloads the models again when you enable a feature again.
The developer also said that you can remove only the Apple Intelligence features you don’t want and keep the others.
Some Reddit users have reported that the tool works and has 1,700 stars on GitHub at the time of writing.
The interest in RemoveMacAI demonstrates the aversion some users have toward some or all of Apple Intelligence’s features, despite Apple’s increasing focus on AI-powered software and device updates to its computers and other devices.
“It reminds me of all the cleanup you’ve always needed to do when installing Windows. It seems we’ve reached the point in macOS, too, where you need to run third-party scripts on a fresh OS installation to regain control of your system resources and remove unwanted junkware,” wrote one Hacker News user in response to RemoveMacAI.
While many users are happy to take advantage of Apple Intelligence on their devices, RemoveMacAI is an easy way for everyone else to regain the control over the presence of Apple Intelligence on their computers that Apple previously offered.
