Apple released iOS 27.2 and macOS Golden Gate 27.2 on October 26, 2026, and the update centres on Siri AI. Apple's notes say "Siri AI can recall your past conversations," that it can draw on more personal data, and that a new Excluded Apps setting "lets you choose which apps Siri, Search, and suggestions can access, all from one setting." Siri AI also adds French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. It is still a beta.

#What changed?

#Siri AI can recall past conversations

Apple's iOS 27.2 notes say: "Siri AI can recall your past conversations, so you can ask Siri about something it told you before, like the restaurants it recommended last week". Apple's summary says the update gives Siri AI "the ability to retain useful context from previous Siri interactions as well as draw from a wider range of personal context." The macOS 27.2 notes carry the same feature.

Ars Technica calls this "a memory feature". Apple does not use that word in its notes.

#More personal data sources

In Apple's words: "Siri AI can draw from more sources to give you a great answer, including photos attached in Messages, Calendar event attendees, your voicemails, and better results from Safari history and Reading List". The new items Apple names are:

  • "photos attached in Messages"
  • "Calendar event attendees"
  • "your voicemails"
  • "better results from Safari history and Reading List"

Apple says "including", so the list may not be complete. Before 27.2, Apple's support page described Siri AI finding things "across Messages, Mail, Calendar, Notes, Reminders, and more".

#Excluded Apps covers Siri, Search and suggestions

Apple's iPhone User Guide says: "If you don’t want Siri to access an app or its data, you can add the app to Excluded Apps." It adds: "Excluded apps aren’t available to Siri, Search, or suggestions." and "All apps are included by default, and you can change which apps Siri can access at any time." The same setting is listed in the macOS 27.2 notes.

#Other Siri AI changes

  • Languages. "Siri AI is available in more languages, with support for French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish." Apple announced these on September 14, 2026. Apple says Chinese (traditional), Norwegian, Turkish and Vietnamese are "coming by the end of the year."
  • iOS 27.2: "Granular text selection lets you select and copy just the part of a Siri response you need".
  • macOS 27.2: "Write with Siri is available right from the new formatting bar when you compose a message in Mail."
  • Both: suggestions in Messages and "Support for SynthID watermarking to help identify whether an image was generated or modified with generative tools in Photos and Image Playground".

#How to exclude apps on iPhone

Per Apple's iPhone User Guide:

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap Siri.
  3. Tap Excluded Apps.
  4. Tap Add Apps, choose the apps, then confirm.

To undo it, tap Edit and delete the app from the list. Apple's pages we checked do not give the Mac steps.

#Who can use it and when?

  • iPhone models. Apple's iOS 27.2 notes list "All iPhone 16 models and later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max" for Siri AI. iOS 27.2 itself installs on "iPhone 11 and later."
  • Mac. "macOS 27 Golden Gate on MacBook Neo (A18 Pro) and Mac with M1 or later".
  • Beta and waitlist. Apple says "Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, macOS 27.2, watchOS 27.2, and visionOS 27.2". To turn it on, go to Settings, Siri, then Try Siri AI (Beta); Apple says "This will add you to a waitlist, and wait times can vary."
  • Age. "Siri AI is not available for users under 13."
  • Usage limits. Apple says some server-side features, "including but not limited to Siri AI", have daily usage limits, and that "Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future."

#Where it is not available

Apple's pages differ in scope, so here is each:

  • EU, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. The iOS 27.2 notes say "Siri AI is not available in the EU or mainland China". Apple's newsroom says it is "currently unavailable in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS," and that "Apple is working constructively with the EU in an attempt to find a path forward."
  • EU, Mac and Vision Pro. Apple's support page says: "It is available for macOS 27 Golden Gate and visionOS 27 if your Apple Account region is in the EU and your device language and Siri language are both set to English."
  • Mainland China. "Siri AI will not currently work if your Apple Account region is in mainland China."

Apple gives no date for either region.

#What does Apple say about privacy?

These are Apple's own claims. Apple says Siri AI is "more personal and powerful, without compromising users’ privacy." Its privacy guide says: "In many cases, Apple Intelligence models run entirely on device so that a task can be completed without data leaving your device." For larger requests, "only the data that is relevant to your request is processed on Apple silicon servers, before being removed," and "The data being processed in Private Cloud Compute is not stored or made accessible to Apple."

Apple has published no privacy statement specific to the recall feature. The Siri app already keeps a conversation history: "Choose how long to keep conversations: Tap Keep Conversations, then choose an option." Apple does not say whether the recall feature uses that history.

Our analysis: with Siri reaching voicemails, Messages photos and calendar attendees, Excluded Apps is the one control Apple documents for limiting what it sees, and it works per app, not per data type.

#Security fixes

Apple's iOS 27.2 security notes list a fix in Apple Intelligence (CVE-2026-86987), where "A remote attacker may be able to access sensitive user data", and two in Siri (CVE-2026-112658 and CVE-2026-112685), where "An app may be able to access sensitive user data". Apple's pages do not say any flaw was exploited.

#How does it compare?

For other assistants and personal data, see our coverage of Gemini Personal Intelligence in Android Auto, ChatGPT locked chats and Claude Duet.

#What is still unclear?

  • Where recall happens. Apple does not say whether it runs on device, in Private Cloud Compute or in iCloud.
  • Turning it off. No separate setting for recall appears in the guide pages we checked.
  • Deleting history. Apple does not say whether deleting a conversation removes it from what Siri can recall.
  • Voicemails. Apple does not say whether this means audio, transcripts or both.