How to completely disable Siri on Sierra?

I have answered 'No' to Siri initial prompt, but I can still see it in my process list. I've tried to kill it, but it loads again immediately. How can I unload and remove Siri from my Mac?

Solution 1:

Ok, I found out the whole procedure by myself, thanks to @blueberryfields and @bret7600.

First of all you need to disable System Integrity Check to be able to edit the com.apple.Siri.plist file.

1. Reboot in Recovery mode by restarting your Mac and holding Command+R. It can take more time to boot as usual, that's OK, just be patient.
2. In the top menu go to Utilities and open Terminal.
3. Type csrutil disable and press Enter.
4. Type reboot and press Enter to reboot again.

Now you should edit the com.apple.Siri.plist file.

1. Open Terminal.app
2. Type sudo plutil -replace Disabled -bool true /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.Siri.plist

Now you should re-enable System Integrity Check. It is there for a reason.

1. Reboot in Recovery mode by restarting your Mac and holding Command+R.
2. In the top menu go to Utilities > Terminal.
3. Type csrutil enable and press Enter.
4. Type reboot and press Enter to reboot again.

Now if you check Activity Monitor - you should see no traces of Siri there. You can repeat this procedure with /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.assistantd.plist to fully disable it.

Solution 2:

Der Flounder post Blocking Siri on macOS Sierra contains plist files that keeps her from running and suppresses her from the menu bar:

com.apple.assistant.support.plist

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Assistant Enabled</key>
    <false/>
</dict>
</plist>

com.apple.Siri.plist

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>StatusMenuVisible</key>
    <false/>
    <key>UserHasDeclinedEnable</key>
    <true/>
</dict>
</plist>

There are also mobileconfig files to have it automatically disabled by the scripts linked there too.

Notes:

• you might have to fiddle your way around the SIP (System Integrity Protection mode) before you can actually modify these files.
• the referenced files are copied over from the equivalent settings for iOS, and may not necessarily work as expected on Sierra. Use with care!

Solution 3:

Using defaults command to operate settings in .plist file is much easier and quicker.

# Disable "Ask Siri"
defaults write com.apple.assistant.support "Assistant Enabled" -bool false

# Remove siri icon from status menu
defaults write com.apple.Siri StatusMenuVisible -bool false

The daemon assistantd is still running. I don't recommend disable it cause you need to disable SIP.