Ever feel like your iPhone is watching you? It’s a little creepy. You wake up, swipe down to search for a contact, and suddenly Siri is suggesting you call your ex or open that meditation app you haven't used in three years. It’s supposed to be helpful. Usually, it’s just annoying. Apple calls it "intelligence," but for a lot of us, it’s just digital clutter that gets in the way of what we’re actually trying to do.
If you’re wondering how do I remove Siri suggestions, you aren't alone. Thousands of people search for this every month because the feature is buried under layers of settings that aren't exactly intuitive. It’s not a single "off" switch. It’s a series of toggles scattered across your device.
Look, Siri is basically a prediction engine. It tracks your location, the time of day, and your app usage patterns to guess your next move. If you always check the weather at 7:00 AM, it’ll put that icon right in front of your face. But maybe you don't want your phone guessing. Maybe you value your privacy, or maybe you just want a clean home screen. Let's get into how to actually shut this thing down.
Stop the Spying: Killing Suggestions on the Home Screen and Search
The most visible place these suggestions pop up is when you swipe down on your home screen or look at your Today View. It’s that row of icons labeled "Siri Suggestions" that never seems to show what you actually need.
To kill these off, you need to head into Settings. Don't bother looking for a "Delete" button; it doesn't exist. Instead, tap on Siri & Search. Scroll down until you see the section for "Suggestions from Apple." You’ll see four main toggles here: Allow Notifications, Show in App Library, Show in Spotlight, and Show when Sharing.
Turn them off. All of them.
Honestly, "Show in Spotlight" is the big one. Spotlight is that search bar that appears when you swipe down. By toggling this off, you’re telling iOS to stop trying to be your personal assistant and just let you search for your files in peace. It’s an immediate relief for your eyes.
The Share Sheet Nightmare
We've all been there. You go to share a funny photo from your gallery, and the Share Sheet pops up with a list of suggested contacts. Half the time, it’s a random person you emailed once about a Craigslist ad. Why is Siri suggesting I text a stranger my vacation photos?
This is arguably the most invasive part of the suggestion system. To fix this, you stay in that same Siri & Search menu and find the "Show when Sharing" toggle. Flick it off. Now, when you hit that share icon, you’ll just see the apps and your pinned contacts, not the "intelligent" guesses that are almost always wrong. It makes the whole experience feel less like a surveillance state and more like a tool you actually control.
Customizing Individual Apps
Sometimes you don't want to go nuclear. Maybe you like Siri suggesting your music, but you want it to stay out of your private messages or your banking app. Apple actually gives you granular control over this, though they don't make it obvious.
Scroll down further in the Siri & Search settings. You’ll see a massive list of every single app installed on your phone. It’s a long list. It’s tedious. But it’s where the real power is.
Click on an app—let's say Instagram. Inside, you’ll find options like "Learn from this App" and "Show Suggestions from App." If you disable "Learn from this App," Siri stops tracking how you use that specific software. This is huge for privacy. It prevents the system from building a profile based on your browsing habits within that app.
Why the Lock Screen Suggestions are the Worst
There is nothing worse than your phone lighting up on your desk during a meeting with a "suggestion" to call your mom. It’s distracting and, frankly, a bit unprofessional if the wrong notification pops up.
Go back to Settings > Siri & Search. Look for "Suggestions on Lock Screen." Disable it. This ensures that your phone stays quiet when it’s locked. It prevents Siri from pushing "Time to Leave" alerts or "Check this App" reminders onto your lock screen. Your lock screen should be for your wallpaper and your actual notifications, not a playground for an AI that thinks it knows your schedule better than you do.
Cleaning Up the Widgets
If you use the Today View (that screen you get when you swipe right from the first home screen), you probably have a Siri Suggestions widget sitting there. Removing the settings toggles we talked about earlier might not always clear the widget itself if it’s already pinned.
- Swipe right to your Today View.
- Scroll to the bottom and hit Edit.
- If the Siri Suggestions widget is there, hit the minus (-) icon.
- Tap Remove.
You can also have these widgets on your actual Home Screen. If you see a block of four or eight apps that keep changing, that’s a widget. Long-press on it until it jiggles, then hit "Remove Widget." It’s gone. Finally.
The Privacy Reality Check
We should talk about what’s actually happening behind the scenes. When you ask how do I remove Siri suggestions, you're often asking for more privacy. Apple claims all this "learning" happens on-device. They use "Differential Privacy," a cryptographic technique that adds noise to your data so they can see trends without seeing you.
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But even if Apple isn't seeing it, your phone is. This data is stored in a local database that builds a map of your life. By turning off these suggestions, you aren't just cleaning up the UI; you're stopping the continuous indexing of your behavior. For many, that’s the real win.
Some people argue that these suggestions save seconds of time. Sure. But if you spend three seconds looking at a suggestion you don't want, you’ve already lost the time you were supposed to save. It’s a net negative for productivity for anyone who prefers a minimalist setup.
Dealing with the Mac and iPad
If you’re in the Apple ecosystem, the "intelligence" follows you. If you turn it off on your iPhone, your iPad might still be doing it.
On a Mac, it’s a similar dance. Go to System Settings > Siri & Spotlight. You’ll see a list of "Siri Suggestions & Privacy." You have to uncheck the boxes for the apps you want to silence. It’s annoying that these settings don't always sync perfectly across iCloud, but it gives you a chance to have different "personalities" for different devices. Maybe you want suggestions on your work Mac but total silence on your personal iPhone.
What Happens if You Regret It?
Can you go back? Of course. If you find yourself missing the "Time to Leave" alerts for your calendar appointments, you can just toggle that specific app back on.
But here is a tip: leave it all off for a week.
Most people find that they don't miss it. You’ll realize you actually know where your apps are. You’ll realize you don't need your phone to tell you it's time to open Spotify when you plug in your headphones. You already know. The "intelligence" often feels like a solution in search of a problem.
Actionable Steps for a Cleaner Interface
To effectively reclaim your device, follow these specific moves right now:
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- Kill the Share Sheet Bloat: Navigate to Settings > Siri & Search and toggle off Show when Sharing. This is the single biggest "quality of life" improvement you can make.
- Silence the Lock Screen: In the same menu, disable Suggestions on Lock Screen to keep your private habits off your display when the phone is idle.
- Audit Your Top 5 Apps: Go into the individual app settings within the Siri menu for your most-used apps (Messages, Mail, Safari, etc.) and turn off Learn from this App. This resets the data model Siri is building about your specific habits.
- Purge the Widgets: Long-press any "dynamic" app folders on your home screen and delete them. Replace them with static folders you organized yourself.
- Clear Siri History: If you want a totally fresh start, go to Settings > Siri & Search > Siri & Dictation History and tap Delete Siri & Dictation History. This wipes the slate clean on Apple's servers regarding your voice interactions and suggested patterns.
By following these steps, you’ve effectively stripped away the predictive layers of iOS. Your phone will stop guessing and start waiting for your actual input. It’s faster, cleaner, and significantly less distracting.