Remove the Siri Icon When Highlighting Text on Mac

By Game Osborne · November 3, 2026 · Mac · Mac, Apple Intelligence, Siri

Turn off the Apple Intelligence Writing Tools button that crowds selected text and restore a cleaner right-click workflow.

What is that icon beside your selected text?

You highlight a sentence, ready to copy it or right-click it, and a small Siri-style or Apple Intelligence icon appears beside the words. It can cover part of the selection or get in the way of the menu you actually wanted.

That button usually belongs to Writing Tools. Writing Tools can proofread, summarize, or rewrite selected text using Apple Intelligence. Because the feature works across many apps, the icon may appear in Mail, Notes, Safari, and other places where you can select text.

There is an important catch: turning off “Learn from this App” will not remove the button. That setting only controls whether Siri and Apple Intelligence learn from how you use a particular app to offer suggestions. To remove the Writing Tools button, you need to restrict or turn off Apple Intelligence itself.

The correct route depends on your macOS version. Start with the first method. If your Mac does not show the named switch, use the Screen Time method instead.

Method 1: Turn off Apple Intelligence with the master switch

Use these steps if System Settings has an “Apple Intelligence & Siri” section with an Apple Intelligence on/off switch. Turning it off disables Apple Intelligence features throughout the Mac, not only the pop-up icon. Your ordinary Mac features will continue to work.

1. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen.
2. Click System Settings.
3. Scroll down the left sidebar until you see Apple Intelligence & Siri.
4. Click Apple Intelligence & Siri.
5. Turn off the switch labeled Apple Intelligence.
6. Click Turn Off Apple Intelligence when the confirmation message appears.
7. Highlight some text in an app to check that the unwanted icon is gone.

Method 2: Restrict Apple Intelligence through Screen Time

On newer macOS versions, including macOS 27 configurations without the older master switch, Apple places the relevant restriction inside Screen Time. Screen Time is the part of System Settings used to control access to apps and features.

The wording can vary slightly by Siri version, language, or region. Do not worry if your screen is not identical to a picture online. The reliable path is Screen Time, then Content & Privacy, then Intelligence & Siri.

1. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen.
2. Click System Settings.
3. Click Screen Time in the left sidebar.
4. Click Content & Privacy.
5. Click Intelligence & Siri.
6. Turn off access to Apple Intelligence.
7. Highlight text again to confirm that the Writing Tools icon no longer appears.

What will change after you turn it off?

The Writing Tools shortcut should stop appearing when you select text. You should then be able to use your familiar right-click menu without the extra button crowding the selection. On a trackpad, a right-click is usually a click with two fingers. You can also hold the Control key and click once.

Because this is a system-wide change, other Apple Intelligence features will also become unavailable. That may include proofreading, rewriting, summarizing, image creation, and intelligence extensions, depending on your Mac and macOS version.

If you later miss those features, follow the same path and turn Apple Intelligence back on. You are not deleting documents, changing your writing, or damaging the Mac. You are simply changing whether the Apple Intelligence tools are allowed to run.

Avoid the tempting setting that does not fix it

You may find an app list under Siri Suggestions & Privacy with a switch called “Learn from this application” or “Learn from this App.” It sounds promising, but it does not control the Writing Tools button beside selected text.

That switch only limits app-based learning and suggestions. Leave it alone unless you also want to change how Siri makes suggestions from that particular app. For this specific annoyance, the Apple Intelligence control is the one that matters.

Bottom line

That intrusive icon is usually the Apple Intelligence Writing Tools shortcut, not a broken right-click menu. Turn off Apple Intelligence directly—or restrict it through Screen Time on newer macOS versions—and your normal text-selection workflow should feel like yours again.