Apple Intelligence, introduced with iOS 18 and available since last October's iOS 18.1 release, offers a suite of AI-powered features designed to enhance user experience across the Apple ecosystem. While most apps inherently support these features, developers have the option to disable them. Meta has chosen this route, restricting Apple Intelligence within its iOS applications. Specifically, as reported by Sorcererhat Tech, features like Writing Tools—which enable users to create, modify, and proofread text using Apple Intelligence—are unavailable in Meta's iOS apps, including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Threads. This means that iPhone and iPad users will not be able to access these AI-driven text enhancements within these popular platforms. Typically, users can access Writing Tools by tapping on a text field within an iOS app. However, in Meta's apps, this option is conspicuously absent. Furthermore, Meta apps prevent users from creating and sharing Genmoji, Apple's custom AI-generated emojis. The report also indicates that Meta has removed the ability to add keyboard stickers and Memoji to Instagram Stories, a feature previously available. Meta has not provided an official explanation for this decision. However, speculation suggests that the move is intended to promote the use of Meta AI, the company's own artificial intelligence platform. Meta AI is integrated into most of Meta's apps and offers similar functionalities, including text creation, editing, and image generation. By blocking Apple Intelligence, Meta likely aims to drive users toward its proprietary AI solutions. Interestingly, a Wall Street Journal report from last year revealed that Apple and Meta had explored a potential partnership to integrate Llama, Meta's AI language model, into Apple Intelligence. These discussions reportedly fell apart due to disagreements over Meta's privacy policies. Apple and Meta have a history of disagreements, particularly concerning App Store guidelines, adding another layer to this complex relationship. Ultimately, this decision means that iOS users are unable to leverage Apple Intelligence within some of the world's most widely used apps. Whether Meta will reconsider its approach in the future remains to be seen, but for now, users will have to rely on alternative AI solutions or Meta's own AI offerings within these platforms. This creates a fragmented experience for iOS users, who may find themselves switching between different AI systems depending on the app they are using.
