Siri is deeply integrated into iOS, and it does much more than answer voice queries. Through a feature called “Siri Suggestions,” Apple’s virtual assistant constantly monitors your device usage—including the apps you open, the websites you visit, and the messages you send—to provide proactive recommendations. These suggestions appear on your lock screen, in the Spotlight search bar, and even inside the Share Sheet. While many users find this predictive behaviour helpful, others find it highly intrusive, distracting, or a privacy concern, as it feels like the operating system is constantly watching your every tap.
This guide explains how to completely disable Siri Suggestions system-wide on your iPhone, stopping the OS from preemptively guessing what you want to do next.
Disable Siri Suggestions via Settings
Apple provides a central hub within the Settings app to manage how Siri interacts with the operating system. You can disable these proactive suggestions with a few quick taps.
- Unlock your iPhone and open the Settings app.
- Scroll down the main list and tap on Siri & Search.
- Scroll down until you locate the section clearly titled Before Searching and Content from Apple.
- You will see several toggle switches governing suggestions. To completely silence the AI, turn the following switches to the Off position:
- Show Suggestions: Removes suggested apps and actions before you even type in the Spotlight search bar.
- Show Recents: Stops displaying recently used apps in search.
- Show in Look Up: Removes Siri suggestions when you highlight text and tap “Look Up”.
- Show in Spotlight: Removes web and App Store suggestions from search results.
- Next, scroll slightly further down to the Suggestions from Apple section.
- Turn off the following switches:
- Allow Notifications: Stops Siri from sending push notifications suggesting you call someone back or leave for an appointment.
- Show in App Library: Removes the AI-curated “Suggestions” folder at the top of your App Library.
- Show When Sharing: Removes the row of suggested contacts (often recent iMessage threads) that appears at the top of the Share Sheet when you try to share a photo or link.
Once these toggles are disabled, your iPhone will return to a much more deterministic state. Search will only return exactly what you type, and the Share Sheet will no longer attempt to guess who you want to text.