iOS 27.2 Lets You Wall Off Apps from Siri AI

With the iOS 27.2 update, Apple has added an "Exclude Apps" option for Siri AI. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is claiming it as a win: the setting fulfills one of the demands of its Encrypt It Already campaign, launched earlier this year.

Why it matters

The EFF's main worry is how new AI features handle end-to-end encrypted content, especially in secure messaging apps. Many of these features rely on cloud processing. So despite the privacy protections engineered into them, messages may leave the device without the user knowing.

The EFF's original request was this: users should be able to tell the operating system's AI to stay out of an app, even if that means losing some features. The setting should also be simple and easy to understand, unlike the controls Gemini and Apple Intelligence offered at the time.

At launch, the EFF found Siri AI's app access controls fairly confusing. Keeping the AI out of a given app meant flipping several toggles or turning Siri AI off entirely. Switching back to Siri Classic remains a reasonable option for anyone who prefers the older assistant.

How it works

After updating to 27.2, go to Settings > Siri > Excluded Apps, tap "Add Apps" and pick the ones you want. Siri AI then loses access to their contents.

Some features will stop working as a result. If you exclude Apple Messages, Siri AI can no longer read or reply to messages for you. "Onscreen awareness" goes too: exclude Signal, and Siri can't tell you anything about what's showing in that app. The EFF sees this as a good sign: if features break, the setting is actually doing its job.

What about Android

On Android, things have improved somewhat, but the controls are less obvious than Apple's, and the screen context feature can't be turned off per app. You can limit Gemini's access like this: open the Gemini app, tap your profile photo, go to Settings > Personal Intelligence > Connected Apps and revoke access for any apps you don't want it to reach.

The EFF likes that this model is opt-in but calls it less than intuitive. Signal, for instance, doesn't appear in the list at all, because the messenger doesn't support Gemini's app access feature, so the AI can't read it directly. However, Gemini can read notifications if the Device Assistance connected app is enabled. It probably is, since basic features like setting a timer depend on it. Gemini can also use screen context unless the "Use screen and app data" option is switched off. Both features can reach Signal's contents or its notifications. The EFF is urging Google to let users disable them on a per-app basis.

The group wants more from Apple as well: an option to use only on-device AI features, as Samsung offered with Galaxy AI. In the EFF's view, every operating system should offer similar controls.

Source: EFF Deeplinks