I said no and Apple said yes

Your macOS will now phone home personal data every 15 minutes, and Apple has removed the option to easily turn it off.

Developer David Bushell reported on February 5, 2025, that macOS 15.3 included a feature that sent personal data home every 15 minutes, which he disabled. Apple provided a setting to turn this off, though it was somewhat hidden. In an update to macOS 27, Bushell discovered Apple had removed this "no" switch for the "Apple Intelligence" feature. He found that despite disabling "Apple Intelligence & Siri," multiple Siri processes remained active, consuming resources. Additional settings, buried under "Screen Time" parental controls, could hide some interface elements but did not fully disable the functionality. Bushell also noted that this update occupied 22.28 GB of disk space, which he calculated as a significant cost given Apple's pricing for storage.

The removal of user-selectable controls for data-phoning features in macOS suggests a broader industry trend where companies prioritize data collection for AI development over explicit user consent. This move by Apple, a company often perceived as privacy-conscious, signals a potential shift in how operating system defaults are managed, pushing users towards features they may not actively want or have agreed to. It raises concerns about the future of user autonomy and control over personal data in increasingly AI-driven ecosystems.

This development affects users who value granular control over their data and privacy settings, particularly those who have previously opted out of such features. The need to navigate complex parental control menus to manage AI-related settings indicates a lack of transparency and user-friendliness. Future implications include increased scrutiny on tech giants' data collection practices and a potential demand for clearer, more accessible privacy controls as AI integration becomes standard across devices.