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In iOS 26, Apple has enhanced its Visual Intelligence feature, expanding it from the camera to what appears on your screen. This allows users to inquire about on-screen items directly from their iPhones, schedule events in the Calendar, or perform image searches via Google (in a manner akin to Google’s Circle to Search). While these upgrades are exciting, they come with an updated full-screen preview that appears each time a screenshot is taken.

For those moments when a quick screenshot is all that’s needed, such as during gameplay, the sudden appearance of this obtrusive preview can be frustrating. Additionally, the concern may arise about privacy since Apple’s Visual Intelligence will automatically analyze what’s on your screen, regardless of the potential usefulness of these features.

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Fortunately, it’s possible to turn off the new full-screen preview in favor of the previous thumbnail-style previews. Plus, if needed, users can still enable Visual Intelligence while using those thumbnails.

Exploring Visual Intelligence in iOS 26

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Since the iOS 18.2 update, users have been able to interact with ChatGPT to inquire about on-screen content. With the release of iOS 26, Automatic Visual Look Up has been added to this feature set. This enhancement automatically assesses screenshots as they are captured, pulling in contextually relevant information displayed beneath the image.

For example, if a screenshot features a party invitation, a one-tap option will appear, allowing quick addition to your calendar. Should you capture a webpage, a direct link will be provided for instant navigation. Furthermore, there’s an option to highlight any picture for a Google image search, akin to using Circle to Search or Google Lens. Although this provides justification for the expansive screenshot previews, it complicates the process of saving images.

How to Turn Off Full-Screen Screenshots

For those who prefer the new full-screen previews (now set as default), saving any screenshot requires two taps: first, you’ll need to click the checkmark icon in the upper section of the screen, then select Save to Photos.

To revert to the traditional thumbnail previews, go to Settings > General > Screen Capture and deactivate the Full-Screen Previews option.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

With the thumbnail preview now appearing in the bottom-left corner after taking a screenshot, users can still tap this to access the full-screen view and see all available Visual Intelligence suggestions.

Disabling Automatic Visual Intelligence

For those with privacy concerns, there are two methods to disable Visual Intelligence functionalities. The first option is to turn off Automatic Look Up, which evaluates screenshots immediately when captured.

To do this, navigate to Settings > General > Screen Capture and switch off the Automatic Visual Look Up setting.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Once activated, the automatic suggestions from Visual Intelligence will cease, but features like chatting with ChatGPT and image highlighting will still be available without automatic functionality. For those seeking to forgo these options entirely, disabling Apple Intelligence completely is also an option. Simply go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and turn off the Apple Intelligence feature.