Apple adds Siri memory and app exclusions in iOS 27.2

By VK

Published 27 Oct 2026, 17:48 UTC

Reporting from Ars Technica

Apple's 27.2 updates add Siri AI conversation memory, more personal data sources, five new languages and an Excluded Apps setting.

What it means for founders

Users now have a bulk off switch. Any app that feeds data to Siri, Search or suggestions can be cut out from one setting, alongside many others. The value of appearing in Siri needs to be obvious to the user.
Siri can answer more without opening your app. Memory plus voicemails, Messages photos and calendar attendees widens what Siri knows. Apps that users open mainly to look things up should watch their open rates.
Retest App Intents code on 27.2. Apple's security notes say one App Intents flaw was fixed with additional entitlement checks. They do not say whether that changes how existing intents behave, so a regression pass is cheap insurance.
Access control for assistants is spreading. Some companies are turning away AI agents on their own terms, and Apple is now handing iPhone users a version of that choice.

The story

Apple shipped its 27.2 updates across iOS, iPadOS, macOS Golden Gate, watchOS, tvOS and visionOS on Monday, October 26, 2026, and the iOS release centers on Siri AI. Apple's release notes, reproduced in full by 9to5Mac and Ars Technica, say Siri can now remember earlier chats, pull from more personal data, and obey a new Excluded Apps setting. Apple also published security notes for iOS 27.2.

Siri gets a memory and more personal data

The biggest addition is conversation memory. Per Apple's notes, Siri can now refer back to what it told a user in an earlier session, such as restaurant picks from the previous week. TidBITS reports that memory reaches iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, while Vision Pro is left out.

Siri's pool of personal context grows too. Apple lists photos sent as Messages attachments, the people invited to Calendar events, voicemails, and what Apple calls improved results from browsing history and Reading List in Safari. On Apple Watch, TidBITS says, that data comes from the paired iPhone. Google is chasing a similar personal-context pitch, most recently by bringing Gemini Personal Intelligence to cars.

Siri AI now works in Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese as well as English. Apple's notes say it remains unavailable in the EU and mainland China. On iPhone, Apple's notes limit it to the iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max and all iPhone 16 models and later.

One switch to keep apps away from Siri

Excluded Apps gives people a single setting for keeping chosen apps out of reach of Siri, Search and suggestions. TidBITS reports that this control used to live in each app's own settings, which made it impractical for anyone with a large number of apps installed.

Other changes

Messages now proposes actions based on the conversation, such as turning a dinner plan into a Calendar event. Photos and Image Playground add support for SynthID watermarking, which Apple says helps identify images made or altered with generative tools. On the Mac, TidBITS reports, Write with Siri now shows up in the Mail formatting bar.

Apple's security notes list 163 CVEs for iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2, including fixes filed under App Intents, Apple Intelligence and Siri where an app or attacker could reach sensitive user data.

What we don't know yet

What exactly Excluded Apps blocks beyond the access by Siri, Search and suggestions that Apple's notes describe. The notes give no further detail.
Whether developers can tell when users have excluded their app.
When, or whether, Siri AI will launch in the EU.