Apple’s Siri App in iOS 27: Auto-Deleting Chats and More
Apple’s iOS 27 Siri app will auto-delete chats after 30 days or one year. After a two-year delay, it may still launch as a beta.
(May 17, 2026 – 5:40 pm)
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TL;DR
Apple’s first standalone Siri app, coming in iOS 27, will include an auto-delete function for chat histories that borrows from the Messages app. Users can configure the app to retain conversations for 30 days, one year, or indefinitely. This feature, reported by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, differentiates Apple’s AI privacy approach from competitors who offer temporary or incognito chat modes as optional settings users must enable manually.
The Siri app will function as a chatbot akin to ChatGPT or Claude, storing past conversations that users can search, continue, or delete. Access is possible through standard Siri activation, the side button, wake word, or a new “Search or Ask” mode triggered by swiping down from the top center of the screen. The app supports both voice and text input, file uploads, and web-sourced answers with images and bullet points. Users can choose whether the app opens to a grid of prior conversations or a new chat each time.
Privacy Architecture as a Differentiator
Apple’s privacy architecture is its competitive differentiator, arguing that such protections should not require users to opt in. Competing chatbots rely heavily on conversation histories and memory systems for personalization, but Apple places tighter limits on what information can persist and how long it is retained, building these restrictions into the system itself.
Strategic Context
The strategic context makes Apple’s privacy framing more interesting. Apple has switched much of its AI infrastructure to Google’s Gemini, paying roughly $1 billion annually for a custom 1.2-trillion-parameter model that will power the next-generation Siri. The company’s existing partnership with OpenAI is under strain, with OpenAI potentially preparing legal action over a ChatGPT-Siri deal that failed to deliver expected subscription revenue. iOS 27 will introduce Extensions allowing users to install rival AI chatbots and route Siri queries through whichever model they choose, including Claude and Gemini.
(Gurman notes that Apple has been less specific about how the new Siri infrastructure will be hosted and operated at scale.)