How to turn off Siri and Siri suggestions

Turning off Siri is a dramatic step, since the digital assistant is baked into virtually every Apple device and core to how the company expects you to use its products. If you’re committed to the idea, though, here’s how to turn off Siri on iPhones and iPads, or simply dial things back a bit and turn off Siri suggestions.

Read more: The best Siri commands

QUICK ANSWER

To turn off Siri on an iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app, then the Siri & Search menu. You'll actually need to toggle off two things first: Listen for “Hey Siri" and Press Side Button for Siri. Use the Turn Off Siri prompt when it's presented.

JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS

How to turn off Siri

If you want to block Siri’s central voice component — whether because of accidental triggers or privacy concerns — there are three things to toggle. Here’s how to turn off Siri:

• Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
• Scroll down and select the Siri & Search menu.
• Toggle off two things first: Listen for “Hey Siri” and Press Side Button for Siri.
• A prompt should appear asking if you want to turn off Siri entirely. Hit Turn Off Siri to proceed.

That’s it. Be warned that when you toggle off Listen for “Hey Siri,” you’ll have to re-train the assistant whenever you switch it back on. Apple adds that data used for Siri is also used for its Dictation feature, so you’ll need to shut that down too if you want a clean slate.

How to turn off Siri suggestions

You may not even think of it as part of Siri sometimes, but Apple’s assistant is regularly recommending apps and actions to speed up control. If you always use the Roku app to fire up your TV after work, for example, Siri will start suggesting it on your iPhone’s lockscreen around that time.

To disable Siri suggestions:

• Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
• Select the Siri & Search menu.
• Scroll down, and toggle off Suggestions while Searching, Suggestions on Lock Screen, Suggestions on Home Screen, and/or Suggestions when Sharing.
• If you don’t see those choices, you may have to toggle off similar options under a section called Suggestions From Apple (see screenshots), or disable things on an app-by-app basis (see below).

You can, of course, leave one or more toggles active if you find them useful.

Can you turn off Siri suggestions for specific apps?

Certainly. Scroll down further in Siri & Search, and you’ll see menus for all of the apps you have installed. Tap one and you’ll see three toggles under a Suggestions section: Show on Home Screen, Suggest App, and Suggestion Notifications. Switch as many as you like off, and repeat for each app you want limited.

Why would you do this? Usually there’s no reason to target individual apps, but it is an alternative if any of the earlier options are missing, or if Siri keeps making a useless recommendation — not everyone wants to see the Starbucks app when they’re near the coffee chain, for example.

Read more: The smart home privacy policies of Amazon, Apple, and Google

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