In iOS 12 and earlier versions of iOS, Siri analyzes your app use, browsing history, emails, messages, contacts, and information from third-party apps to provide customized suggestions for searches, Look Up, News, Photos, and more.

‌Siri‌ syncs this information across all of your devices to provide a more personalized experience, and this information is also anonymously sent back to Apple to "make your searches more relevant."

All of this information is encrypted, but you may not want to use the feature because of privacy issues or you may not want certain apps showing up on your device. For that reason, Apple has expanded privacy controls so you can customize Search and ‌Siri‌ Suggestions to your liking.

How to Disable Siri Suggestions for Individual Apps

If you want to use ‌Siri‌ Suggestions but don't want certain apps to show up as suggested content, you can disable them on an app by app basis. This feature was introduced in iOS 11 and it keeps sensitive apps from showing up in suggestions, searches, and more across your operating system.

sirisuggestionsbyapp

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down to ‌Siri‌ & Search and tap it.
  3. Scroll down to see a list of all of the apps that work with the feature.
  4. Select each app you don't want to show up in search and ‌Siri‌ suggestions.
  5. Tap the ‌Siri‌ & Suggestions button to toggle it off.

When you disable apps, information from those apps will not show up in Search, Look Up, and Keyboard as you use your iOS device. So, for example, if I disable the Files app, content stored in my Files app will no longer come up in a search or anywhere else.

In the screenshot below, I have Files enabled for ‌Siri‌ and Search Suggestions on the left, and on the right, I've disabled the feature. As you can see, content from the Files app no longer shows up.

sirisuggestionsfilesdisabled
You can toggle off any of your installed apps to prevent their data from being displayed when you search, use the keyboard, and ask ‌Siri‌ questions.

‌Siri‌ will ignore disabled files but will continue to learn your preferences from enabled apps and show content from those apps, which is probably how most people will prefer to use this feature. For a full lockdown, though, disable your apps and turn off ‌Siri‌ Suggestions entirely.

How to Turn Off Siri Suggestions Entirely

If you don't want to use ‌Siri‌ suggestions at all, there are three simple toggles for turning it off.

disablesirisuggestions

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down to ‌Siri‌ & Search and tap it.
  3. Scroll down to ‌Siri‌ Suggestions.
  4. Toggle off Suggestions in Search.
  5. Toggle off Suggestions in Look Up.
  6. Toggle off Suggestions on Lock Screen.

With these two settings toggled off ‌Siri‌ will not provide personalized suggestions when you search for things, and your data will not be anonymously sent to Apple to power the ‌Siri‌ features. Note that ‌Siri‌ will still bring up apps installed on your devices in search and other areas -- this just disables the feature that lets ‌Siri‌ learn your preferences and send data to Apple.

To keep apps from showing up entirely, you'll need to use the individual app settings, as outlined above.

Preventing Siri Suggestions From Sending Your Location to Apple

In some cases, ‌Siri‌ Suggestions sends the location of your device to Apple alongside your search queries so Apple can provide more relevant recommendations. You can keep your location from being sent to Apple by disabling a specific Location setting.

locationservicessiri

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Choose Privacy.
  3. Tap Location Services.
  4. Scroll down to System Services and tap it.
  5. Scroll down to Location-Based Suggestions and toggle it off.

‌Siri‌ Suggestions is a useful feature so most people won't want to toggle it off completely (and it is completely private -- Apple encrypts and anonymizes all data) but being able to prevent individual apps like Safari, Mail, and others from showing up lets you customize your results for a more streamlined experience and it prevents anything you don't want to see from popping up unexpectedly.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Top Rated Comments

Time Less Avatar
97 months ago
We need a toggle to disable all apps or toggles next to the names. 3 steps for each app is tedious.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jgerry Avatar
97 months ago
I’ve just figured out that you can’t even find an app with Spotlight anymore. WTF. Some show up, some don’t, and I have to type the entire app name before it shows up. Bad Apple. BAD!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Compote Avatar
97 months ago
Siri always knows when I want to use Grindr... HA! Not anymore!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
patrickplaggenborg Avatar
97 months ago
I’ve just figured out that you can’t even find an app with Spotlight anymore. WTF. Some show up, some don’t, and I have to type the entire app name before it shows up. Bad Apple. BAD!
The app won’t show up at the top if ‘Search & Siri Suggestions’ is disabled for this particular app.

I always had it disabled for most because I found the in-app search result suggestions to be cluttering.

I want a quick and easy way to spotlight search an app by typing 2-4 characters.

The only way to do this now is to enable ‘Search & Siri Suggestions’ for this app. It will then show up almost at the top. Right below the text search suggestions.

Unfortunately this also enables all the other in-app search clutter again.

I’ve submitted feedback to the Apple iPhone feedback system. I suggest everybody who finds this annoying to do the same.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nicksd84 Avatar
97 months ago
Can someone explain the difference between search and “look up”
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mcdj Avatar
97 months ago
I’m more interested in a way to disable the word suggestions at the top of the results. It used to be apps at the top of search results and I used it as a launcher by typing a couple of letters of the app name. Now the app results are partially obstructed by the keyboard and less intuitive to reach.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Apple's 2026 Foldable iPhone Has No Visible Display Crease – Report

Tuesday February 25, 2025 2:58 am PST by
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices. According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
trump iphone dictation issue

Apple Fixing 'Trump' Dictation Processing Bug

Tuesday February 25, 2025 1:18 pm PST by
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist." In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...
airtag orange

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch in May or June With These New Features

Monday February 24, 2025 6:11 am PST by
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe. Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2: With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
ios 18 4 carplay

iOS 18.4 Includes a Small But Useful Change for CarPlay

Sunday February 23, 2025 2:23 pm PST by
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay. As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...