How to Turn Off Siri Reading Notifications Aloud

Siri's ability to read notifications aloud can feel like a helpful hands-free feature — until it starts announcing your private messages through your AirPods in a quiet meeting. If you've landed here, you probably want to know exactly how to stop Siri from reading your notifications out loud, and why the setting behaves differently depending on your setup.

Here's a clear breakdown of how the feature works, where to find the controls, and why your experience may differ from someone else's.

What "Siri Reading Notifications" Actually Is

Apple introduced Announce Notifications (previously called "Announce Messages") as part of Siri's hands-free functionality. When enabled, Siri will read incoming notifications aloud when you're wearing supported audio devices — primarily AirPods or Beats headphones — and your iPhone or iPad is locked.

The feature was originally limited to messages, then expanded to include notifications from a wider range of apps. This distinction matters when you're troubleshooting, because the controls are split across multiple settings menus.

Where to Turn It Off — The Main Toggle

The primary setting lives in your Siri & Search options on iOS:

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Siri & Search (or Apple Intelligence & Siri on iOS 18.1+)
3. Tap Announce Notifications
4. Toggle Announce Notifications to Off

Turning this off globally stops Siri from reading any notifications aloud across all supported audio devices. This is the fastest, most complete solution if you want the feature gone entirely.

Turning It Off Only for Specific Apps 🎯

If you don't want to disable the feature entirely — maybe you like having certain calendar alerts read aloud but not your messages — iOS lets you control it per app.

From the same Announce Notifications screen:

• Scroll down to the app list under Announce Notifications From
• Toggle off individual apps, such as Messages, Mail, or any third-party apps that have appeared there

This gives you a more granular setup where Siri stays quiet about some apps while still reading others.

The CarPlay and AirPods Distinction

One reason this setting confuses people is that Announce Notifications behaves differently depending on your connected device:

If you're hearing Siri read notifications through your car speakers, the CarPlay path is where you'll find the relevant toggle. The AirPods path and the CarPlay path are separate, so disabling one doesn't necessarily disable the other.

Checking AirPods-Specific Settings

AirPods have their own settings layer. Even after turning off Announce Notifications in Siri settings, it's worth checking the AirPods panel:

1. Open Settings
2. Tap on your AirPods name near the top (or under Bluetooth)
3. Look for Announce Notifications — toggle it off here if it's present

On some firmware and iOS version combinations, this AirPods-level setting can operate independently from the global Siri setting. If you turned it off in Siri & Search but Siri is still reading things aloud, this is the most common reason why.

iOS Version Differences That Affect These Steps 🔧

Apple has reorganized these menus across iOS updates:

• iOS 13–15: The feature was called Announce Messages and was limited primarily to Messages and some compatible apps
• iOS 16–17: Renamed to Announce Notifications, expanded app support, and consolidated into the Siri & Search menu
• iOS 18 / iOS 18.1+: With the rollout of Apple Intelligence, some Siri settings moved into a new Apple Intelligence & Siri section

If your Settings menu doesn't match the path described above, your iOS version is likely the reason. The feature still exists — it's just in a slightly different location.

When "Do Not Disturb" and Focus Modes Interact

It's worth knowing that Focus modes (including Do Not Disturb, Sleep, and custom Focus profiles) can affect whether Announce Notifications fires at all. If Siri only reads notifications in certain contexts — like during workouts or driving — check your Focus settings under Settings → Focus to see whether any active Focus mode has Announce Notifications enabled separately.

Some users find that Announce Notifications is tied to a specific Focus mode they set up without realizing it, so the global toggle appears off but Siri still speaks during that Focus state.

The Variable That Changes Everything

How disruptive the feature feels — and therefore how urgently you need to disable it — depends heavily on your personal setup: which audio devices you use, how many apps send you notifications, your iOS version, whether you use Focus modes, and whether you're dealing with a CarPlay vehicle or purely AirPods usage.

Someone who only uses AirPods at the gym needs a different solution than someone whose messages are being read aloud through their car speakers during calls. The controls exist at multiple levels for exactly this reason — and the right one depends entirely on where and how the problem is showing up for you. 🎧