Victory! You Can Now Exclude Apps from Siri AI

The new feature fulfills a key request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Encrypt It Already campaign. It addresses concerns about how AI features interact with end-to-end encrypted content, particularly in secure messaging apps. Many AI features require cloud processing, which means content from secure apps may leave a user's device without their knowledge.

Previously, controlling Siri AI's app access was confusing, requiring users to toggle multiple options or disable Siri AI entirely. The new iOS 27.2 update provides a clearer solution that better protects user data, though it does come at the cost of some functionality.

How to Use the Feature

To add apps to the exclusion list, users need to update to iOS 27.2 and navigate to Settings > Siri > Excluded Apps. From there, they can tap 'Add Apps' and select which applications they want to exclude from Siri AI's access.

Excluding an app prevents Siri AI from accessing its contents. For example, if the Apple Messages app is excluded, Siri AI can no longer read or respond to messages. The 'onscreen awareness' feature also stops working for excluded apps.

Android Comparison

Google's Android implementation has improved but isn't as straightforward as Apple's new settings. Android users can control Gemini's app access through the Gemini app's settings, but it lacks the ability to set screen context features per app.

Future Improvements

While Apple's new feature is a step in the right direction, the Electronic Frontier Foundation suggests the company should go further by offering an option to use only 'on device' AI features, similar to Samsung's Galaxy AI approach.

The organization believes all operating systems need to consider implementing similar controls to protect user privacy as AI features become more integrated into daily device usage.