Apple to Launch Standalone Siri App With Auto-Deleting Chats in iOS 27 [Gurman]

Apple is preparing a standalone Siri application for iOS 27 that brings a ChatGPT-style interface to the iPhone. The move attempts to balance the company's long-standing focus on user privacy with a growing reliance on external AI infrastructure.



A dedicated Siri app sits at the center of the upcoming update, designed to function as a conversational chatbot. Users can access the assistant through traditional methods or invoke a new "Search or Ask" mode by swiping down from the top center of the display. It also serves as a repository for past interactions, letting users choose whether the app opens to a grid of prior conversations or a blank chat.


To differentiate its approach from competing platforms, Apple is building specific data retention controls directly into the interface. Rather than relying on optional incognito modes, the new Siri settings panel will feature an auto-delete function. Users can configure the assistant to retain conversation histories for 30 days, one year, or indefinitely, similar to the retention options available in the Messages app.

Supporting the overhauled assistant will require changes to Apple's AI backend. The company originally pitched Apple Intelligence as a hybrid system combining on-device processing with its own Private Cloud Compute servers. Apple previously confirmed that Google's Gemini models will power parts of the next-generation Siri experience. According to Mark Gurman, the updated system will also rely on Google's cloud infrastructure for some of its expanded capabilities.

Apple is still expected to emphasize its privacy-focused approach at the Worldwide Developers Conference next month. While the underlying technology will continue using the Apple Foundation Models branding, Gurman reports that the company has been less specific about how portions of this new cloud architecture will operate at scale.

The company faces increasing pressure to deliver an AI tool capable of competing with services from OpenAI and Anthropic. Apple is expected to position tighter conversation retention controls and other built-in safeguards as a key differentiator for Siri compared to rival chatbot platforms.