- Siri Suggestions can be disabled completely or selectively.
- From the settings you can decide where in the system suggestions appear.
- It's also possible to manage apps on a per-app basis if Siri can collect activity within them.
- iOS Allows you to remove suggestion widgets and modify preferences in Safari.
Siri Suggestions are one of those features that, depending on the user, can be a blessing or a nuisance. Although they're designed to make your life easier by anticipating your most common actions, the truth is that for many, they feel intrusive or unnecessary. And if you're part of that second group, you're in luck, because today we're going to explain... How to completely or selectively remove Siri Suggestions trust your iPhone o iPad.
These types of suggestions appear at different points in the system such as the lock screen, Spotlight, Safari, or Today View, and are based on your daily routines and your usage of certain apps. While this feature has its positive aspects, it can also cause privacy concerns or simply be annoying. Therefore, here you'll see all the possible methods to control or disable them to your liking.
What exactly are Siri Suggestions?
Siri Suggestions are personalized recommendations that iOS generates by analyzing your habits. They can appear in many places on your device, such as when writing a message, when searching the device, when consulting apps, or even on the lock screen.
These virtual assistant notifications are triggered by things like:
- App usage patterns: Siri learns which apps you use most and when, so it can suggest them to you at the right time.
- Location and contact with other users: If you tend to text a certain person from a certain location or at a certain time, Siri can suggest that action.
- Events and emails: If you confirm an appointment or purchase a ticket online, Siri may offer to add it to your calendar.
All of this is based on data that Siri collects locally. and which, according to Apple, are encrypted and anonymized to protect your privacy. Still, not all users are comfortable with this collection, and many simply prefer to have complete control over what appears on their iPhone. If this is your case, you can also disable Siri policies that can influence this aspect.
How to turn off Siri Suggestions from Settings
One of the most direct ways to manage these types of recommendations is through the main iPhone settings panel. From there you can remove Suggestions on the home screen, lock screen, search, and when sharing content.
To do so, follow these steps:
- Open the application Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
- Choose Siri and Search.
- Scroll down until you find the section Show Siri Suggestions.
- Here you individually disable suggestions in different contexts of the operating system.
You can also access each specific application from this same menu. to set whether you allow your activity to be collected, allowing or disabling Siri to learn from it for its recommendations. If you want more information on how to turn Siri on or off, you can check out this article on Activate Siri on iPhone.
Turn off suggestions on the 'Today' screen
The Today screen (on the left side of the main dashboard) also displays a Siri Suggestions widget, typically with shortcuts to your most-used apps. To remove it:
- Access the screen by swiping right from the home screen.
- Scroll down to the bottom and click on Edit.
- Look for the Siri Suggestions widget and click on the delete icon (a subtraction inside a circle).
- Confirm the deletion.
In recent versions like iOS 14 and later, where widgets are managed from edit mode, simply long press the widget and select Remove widget from the floating menu.
Remove Siri Suggestions in Safari
The Safari browser uses Siri to offer suggestions related to your searches, frequently visited websites, or links you've received in text messages. It can even preload web pages in the background so they open faster. If you'd rather disable it:
- Opens Settings and enters safari.
- Here you can deactivate Search engine suggestions, Safari Tips, and Preload featured result.
- You can also go to Siri and Search within Safari and disable the options associated with the browser.
These options will prevent Siri from interfering with your browsing experience, which can be especially useful if you want to save Mobile data or you don't want to additional distractions. In case you need to adjust more settings, check out how add words for autocorrect.
Choose which apps can appear in suggestions
You can limit suggestions for individual apps. For example, if you don't want Siri to show shortcuts to Safari, Calendar, or Messages, you can disable them individually. Here's how:
- Opens Settings and scroll down to the list of apps.
- Click on the one you want to modify.
- Sign in Siri and Search within that app.
- Deactivate Learn from this app, Show in Search, Suggest app or any other specific permission.
This option is very useful for preventing certain apps (especially if they are sensitive or rarely used) from taking up space in suggestions. If you want to explore more about how to improve Siri management, you can read about it in Apple and artificial intelligence.
Remove Siri Suggestions from the widget
Another quick way to get rid of suggestions altogether is to simply remove the Siri widget entirely. This method is useful if you don't feel like going into settings and want more visual results. To do this:
- Go to the Home screen or Today screen where the widget is located.
- Press and hold the widget until the options menu opens.
- Press on Remove widget.
This method removes the visual part of the system, but keep in mind that suggestions may still appear in other areas if they haven't been disabled in Settings.
Privacy and data synchronization between Apple devices
An important part of Siri Suggestions is that Learn from your routines on one device and replicate them on any other device where you're signed in with your Apple account.This includes iPads, Macs, and more. If you don't want Siri to sync your learnings across devices:
- Opens Settings and go to iCloud.
- Find Siri and turn off sync.
This will prevent the assistant from updating or sharing personalization data between your devices.
Additional tips to better manage Siri
If you're looking for an even more personalized experience, you can reconfigure Siri to be helpful only at key moments. Here are some tips:
- If you just want to leave helpful suggestions: Deactivate the ones you don't use and leave active only those that really serve you.
- Check from time to time: From time to time, go into 'Siri & Search' to check which apps are active and change them.
- Siri can be helpful by typing: You can keep suggestions as you type, such as names or places, without allowing access to all your activity.
Controlling Siri suggestions is perfectly possible, and Apple gives you the tools you need to adjust its behavior to your preferences. From changing general settings to disabling individual apps, there are solutions for every user profile. If you want to eliminate all traces of the assistant, the methods we explain here make it easy to do so without compromising the functioning of the rest of the system.
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