How to delete Image playground from my iMac M3 and MacBook Air M1?

obimk1 wrote:

I can't delete Image Playground.

On 25 05-2025 auto-magical installed by Apple.

Siri language is not the same as system language

Because of my disability I can't use Siri.

Apple this is getting pathetic, please fix this.

And I hate the lack of control on my own computer, somebody had to say this.

That's right. On a Mac, Image Playground is an integral part of MacOS and it can't be removed. You may own your computer, but Apple owns MacOS. There are loads of things built into the OS you can't remove. If you don't want to use Image Playground, don't use it, like you likely don't use every single thing built into your Mac as it is.

Is your Siri language different from your system language because of Apple Intelligence?

Ultimately however, you aren't speaking with Apple here. This is a user to user only forum and no one from Apple will see or read your comments.

If you want to complain to Apple, you can use this link --> Product Feedback - Apple

Apparently you can remove Image Playground from your iPhone and iPad, but not your Mac. Since this is a user to user only forum, we can't explain why, but my guess is it's built into the Apple Intelligence bundle on your Mac and isn't removable. If you don't have a need to use it, just don't use it, seems the simplest thing to do.

You can provide feedback to Apple here --> Product Feedback - Apple

There are over 1,000 features and apps built in to Mac OS, and Image Playground is just one of them. You cannot delete ANY of them.

GeoffDeGeoff666 wrote:

Yeah but why can’t I delete them? Stop being an Apple Stan and ask why we have to waste expensive disk space on stuff we never open.

especially when I can delete the equivalent apps on my iPhone and iPad.

Because you are comparing 2 entirely different platforms with entirely different security protections. In addition MacOS it a multi user platform where the apps on stored in the System Folders allowing access by any user and you can even install apps using a downloaded installer, none of which is a concern with iPhone/iPad.

Maybe, someday you will be able to do it, but it is not today, and it would require a major overhaul on MacOS with how the files are stored and accessed by other users. Feel free to send feedback to Apple here:

Product Feedback - Apple

Nothing is going to change by arguing about it here.

hirschberger wrote:

No way to get rid of this something. I don't want to use that something - @Apple I have never asked for anything with a stupid looking kitten icon.

Please provide ASAP all necessary steps to remove this something. I haven't even clicked on it. So you can take it back, if you want to use it.

You are NOT writing anyone at Apple. This is a user to user only forum, where no one from Apple actively participates, nor reads for user feedback. As such, you are only writing other fellow users, none of whom have any ability to ASAP anything you have requested.

Feel free to use this link to let Apple know your thoughts, but simply don't expect Apple to give you the ability to remove something built into the OS --> Product Feedback - Apple

obimk1 wrote:

I can't delete Image Playground.

Correct. You also cannot delete the Chess app, News, Stocks, Emojis, etc.

Siri language is not the same as system language

You can certainly use a different language if you wish. That is your choice.

Because of my disability I can't use Siri.

Ok. Apple has a wide range of Accessibility options that hopefully you can take advantage of. Far more than what you would find on any other platform.

Apple this is getting pathetic, please fix this.

It is working exactly as designed. Not sure what you are referring to that needs fixed.

And I hate the lack of control on my own computer, somebody had to say this.

You own the computer, not the software. That is given to you for free and you are a licensed user. You can send feedback to Apple for anything you wish. Product Feedback - Apple

aggressivility wrote:

I know that all manufacturers add bloatware into their software and make you accept it, and that it takes away from your storage. For Apple Macbooks, that can be a dreadful thing as they can come in such small capacity.

The built in apps don’t take away any of your storage; the reside in the System Partition, which is not accessible to the user Data Partition. The System Partition is read-only for enhanced security, which is why built-in apps can’t be removed.

hirschberger wrote:

No way to get rid of this something. I don't want to use that something - @Apple I have never asked for anything with a stupid looking kitten icon.

Please provide ASAP all necessary steps to remove this something. I haven't even clicked on it. So you can take it back, if you want to use it.

You may not have realized this, but NONE of your System installed apps can be removed. You can't even remove the Chess app, whether you have ever used it or not. The reason is that those are part of the System install and on a completely different partition of your Hard Drive where they are locked and read only. The good news is that no one else can make changes to those system files either, so there is no chance that viruses can installed there, as was common many years ago and particularly plagued Windows computers.

GeoffDeGeoff666 wrote:

I bought an iMac before Apple intelligence was a thing. I opted out of the pointless generative nonsense I will never use.

it now takes up 7 GB of space minimum on my disc even though I have turned it off that is unacceptable

Whether you find it acceptable or not is immaterial. We've told you you can't selectively remove components built into the OS. You can't do that on Chrome. You can't do that on Windows. You don't own MacOS. Apple does. If you want to complain, doing so here is pointless. This is a user to user only forum, which no one from Apple actively participates. Feel free to share your thoughts with Apple here --> Feedback - macOS - Apple

clement_59 wrote:

I actually don't mind the additional software.

I would probably not use it,

But - why give it such an image ? The vision of a big eyed kitten is actually nauseating, & offends me.

It looks so dodgy, like a Far-East IT infection upon my well maintained Apple Mac.

I just cannot trust it. I've tried to remove it, I have tried to hide it, it is just yuck

You may be the only person I've met who thinks an image of a kitten is nauseating and offensive. You can make some of the people happy some of the time. You can make some of the people unhappy some of the time, but you can't make ALL of the people happy ALL of the time.

If it's really so incredibly objectionable to you, place the app icon in a folder on your Mac. It will be less obvious that way.

You can't remove it. You can't hide it.

lost-sailor wrote:

I'm not an Apple employee, so I paid for my computer, including the ram, and the disk. Everyone knows they under-size the disk and ram to nudge people to upgrade their hardware. It's an artificially scarce resource.

The push all their inferior apps, to further impose artificial scarcity. All the junk I can't remove:

<snip>

527656 total

...Is about half a gig. So, not zero. Small, but not zero. When your disk is full, you'd wish you had it.

And this doesn't even include the "Apple Intelligence" LLMs. Turn it off, you still have to drag all that crud around.

I license the files, but I own the disk, right?

Also, ALL operating systems? Go try linux. You can remove any file. You can strip that OS down to a tiny disk footprint.

Yes, you can try linux, for which there are thousands of hacks available.

All of those apps you listed are on the read-only system partition, to prevent a hacker from overwriting the apps with an app containing malware. And, as they are on the read-only partition, they are not using any space on your read-write partition. If you don’t want Apple’s security features then certainly switch to Linux.

GeoffDeGeoff666 wrote:

I bought an iMac before Apple intelligence was a thing. I opted out of the pointless generative nonsense I will never use.

it now takes up 7 GB of space minimum on my disc even though I have turned it off that is unacceptable

You are simply licensed to use the software. There are many things that can't be deleted, such as any of the apps including Chess that you may never use. Also, you are unable to remove any of the emojis, even if there are many you do not use. You don't have to use AI and can turn it off, but you will not be able to remove any parts of the OS that was installed.

GeoffDeGeoff666 wrote:

Yeah but why can’t I delete them? Stop being an Apple Stan and ask why we have to waste expensive disk space on stuff we never open.

especially when I can delete the equivalent apps on my iPhone and iPad.

It's been explained. Apple Intelligence as do ALL built in components of MacOS reside in a Partition which CANNOT be touched in MacOS. That partition is READ ONLY. It's that simple.

ifbenthen wrote:

I too would like to know this. I understand that Apple likes to include fun little applications that show of their new features, like Photo Booth when the iSight camera was integrated into the iMac, but this AI stuff if God awful. You can tell when an image or text is AI generated, which is making everyone's voice the same. Originality and personality are a thing of the past. When it's not making us all the same, the information it gives is wrong, so I'd like to scrub this fad from all devices.

If you don't want to use any of the Apple Intelligence features on your device, that is certainly your choice. Simply don't opt-in to Apple Intelligence. There problem solved.

Personally, I'm really enjoying the new features. I find Image Playground fun. I was already using ChatGPT on my iPhone, so the new integration with Siri, makes Siri infinitely more useful. The writing tools really help if I've written something I'd like to rewrite at the tap of a button. But again, none of these features are being forced on you, if you don't want them. Apple Intelligence is OPT-IN ONLY. So don't opt-in.

I think the thread is about deleting it from a Mac. And, obviously, because the system software is in a sealed volume, that's not possible. But, no matter how many times that's said, it doesn't seem to help. Everyone needs their own personal answer, I guess.