What Siri Suggestions are and why you might want to disable them

Siri Suggestions are predictions Apple's system makes about what you might want to do next — opening an app, sending a message, or playing music. They appear on your lock screen, in search results, and in the app switcher. Apple builds these suggestions by tracking which apps you use, when you use them, and what you do inside them.

You might want to turn them off if you share your device with others, if you prefer not to have your usage patterns tracked, or simply because you find them distracting. The good news is that you can disable Siri Suggestions entirely, or turn them off in specific places while keeping them elsewhere.

Key Takeaways

  • Siri Suggestions can be disabled completely through Settings, or turned off in individual locations like the lock screen or search results.
  • On iPhone and iPad, go to Settings > Siri & Search and toggle off "Suggestions" to stop them from appearing everywhere at once.
  • You can also disable suggestions for specific apps by finding that app in the Siri & Search settings and turning off its toggle.
  • On Mac, the process is similar: System Settings > Siri & Spotlight, then uncheck "Suggestions" in the relevant sections.

Disable Siri Suggestions on iPhone and iPad

Open the Settings app and tap Siri & Search. You will see a list of options. The first toggle, labeled Listen for "Hey Siri", controls voice activation — turning this off stops Siri from responding to voice commands. Below that is Suggestions, which controls whether suggestions appear on your lock screen and in search.

Tap the toggle next to Suggestions to turn it off. This disables lock screen suggestions immediately. If you want to keep suggestions in some places but not others, scroll down to find toggles for Suggestions on Lock Screen, Suggestions in Search, and Suggestions in App Library. You can turn off any combination of these.

To disable suggestions for a single app, scroll down in the Siri & Search settings until you find that app's name. Tap it and toggle off Suggestions. This prevents that app from appearing in Siri suggestions without affecting other apps.

Disable Siri Suggestions on Mac

Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and select System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions). Navigate to Siri & Spotlight. You will see a list of apps and a checkbox next to each one.

Uncheck the box next to any app you do not want to appear in suggestions. To disable all Siri suggestions at once, uncheck Siri Suggestions at the top of the list. You can also uncheck Spotlight Suggestions if you want to stop suggestions from appearing in Spotlight search results.

Turn off suggestions in specific locations

If you want to keep Siri Suggestions in some places but not others, you have granular control. On iPhone and iPad, you can disable lock screen suggestions while keeping search suggestions, or vice versa. This is useful if you share your device with family members but still want suggestions to appear when you are using it alone.

On Mac, unchecking an app removes it from all suggestion locations at once — there is no way to show it in Spotlight but hide it from the Siri menu. If you want partial control on Mac, your only option is to disable Siri Suggestions entirely.

What happens when you disable Siri Suggestions

Disabling Siri Suggestions does not turn off Siri itself. You can still ask Siri questions, set reminders, or control your device with voice commands. It only stops the automatic predictions from appearing on your screen.

Turning off suggestions also stops Apple from collecting data about your app usage for the purpose of making those predictions. However, Apple still collects other data for other purposes — such as crash reports and general analytics — unless you disable those separately in Settings > Privacy.

Re-enable Siri Suggestions if you change your mind

If you disable Siri Suggestions and later want them back, the process is the same: go to Settings > Siri & Search on iPhone and iPad, or System Settings > Siri & Spotlight on Mac, and toggle the suggestions back on. Your device will start showing suggestions again within a few minutes.

It may take a day or two for suggestions to become useful again, because Apple needs to re-learn your usage patterns. During that time, suggestions might seem generic or less relevant than before.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will disabling Siri Suggestions speed up my device?

Not noticeably. Siri Suggestions use minimal processing power and storage. If your device feels slow, the cause is usually something else — too many apps running, low storage space, or an older device. Disabling suggestions will not fix performance problems.

Can I disable Siri Suggestions for just one user on a shared device?

Not directly. Siri Suggestions are tied to the device itself, not to individual user accounts on iPhone or iPad. If you share a device with family, you can disable suggestions entirely, or use Screen Time to restrict what each person sees. On Mac, you can create separate user accounts, and each account has its own Siri & Spotlight settings.

Does turning off Siri Suggestions stop Apple from tracking my data?

It stops Apple from collecting data specifically for Siri Suggestions. However, Apple still collects other information — such as app crashes, general usage patterns, and Siri queries — unless you disable those in Settings > Privacy > Analytics or Settings > Privacy > Apple Advertising.

Why do Siri Suggestions sometimes show apps I never use?

Siri Suggestions are based on patterns, time of day, and location. If you open an app once a week at a specific time, Siri learns that pattern and suggests it at that time, even if you do not use it often. The more you use your device, the more accurate suggestions become.