If you use an Apple device, Siri is already on by default — and it’s always listening for its wake phrase. Every voice request you make can be processed and stored on Apple’s servers, and accidental activations can pick up on conversations you never intended to share.
If you’re concerned about what Siri means for your privacy,, this guide shows you how to turn off Siri on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, and how to clean up the data it’s already collected.
- How to turn off Siri on iPhone and iPad
- How to turn off Siri on Mac
- How to turn off Siri on Apple Watch
- How to disable Siri suggestions
- How to delete Siri history
- Why you should turn off Siri
- Your privacy is worth protecting
How to turn off Siri on iPhone and iPad
There’s no single off switch for Siri — you’ll need to turn off a few settings separately. If you’re on iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 and later, open Settings and look for Siri or Apple Intelligence & Siri. On older OS versions, look for Siri & Search instead.
Disable voice activation
Disabling voice activation prevents Siri from always listening for its wake phrase. You can still trigger it manually by pressing the side button.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Siri (or Apple Intelligence & Siri).
- Select Talk & Type to Siri. If you disabled Apple Intelligence, this will appear as Talk to Siri instead.
- Select Off.
Disable dictation
Siri’s dictation feature lets you compose text by voice, and your voice input is processed in a similar way to Siri requests. If you’re turning Siri off for privacy reasons, it’s worth disabling dictation too.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select General →Keyboard.
- Toggle Enable Dictation off.
Turn Siri off completely on iPhone and iPad
Before you can fully turn off Siri on iPhone and iPad, you will first need to disable both voice activation and dictation before following the steps below.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Siri (or Apple Intelligence & Siri).
- Select Talk & Type to Siri (or Talk to Siri)
- Toggle off Press Side Button for Siri.
- Select Turn Off Siri.
If you’re using HomePod speakers with personal requests enabled, you’ll see an additional warning that your HomePod will no longer recognize your voice. Select Stop Using Siri to confirm.
How to turn off Siri on Mac
The steps to disable Siri on Mac are similar, though menu names vary depending on your macOS version. On macOS Sequoia and later, you’ll find Siri in Apple Intelligence & Siri in System Settings. On older versions, it’s just Siri.
Disable voice activation
- Click the Apple icon in the menu bar and select System Settings.
- Select Apple Intelligence & Siri.
- Under Siri Requests, toggle off Listen for “Hey Siri”.
This stops Siri from listening for its wake phrase, though you can still activate Siri using a keyboard shortcut.
Disable dictation
- Click the Apple icon in the menu bar and select System Settings.
- Select Keyboard.
- Toggle Dictation off.
Turn Siri off completely on Mac
- Click the Apple icon in the menu bar and select System Settings.
- Select Apple Intelligence & Siri.
- Under Siri Requests, toggle Siri off.
How to turn off Siri on Apple Watch
Your Apple Watch does not mirror your iPhone’s Siri settings. Since they’re independent, you can leave Siri enabled on your iPhone and disabled on your watch, or vice versa. Here’s how to disable Siri on your Apple Watch:
Disable voice activation
- Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
- Tap Siri.
- Depending on your WatchOS version, toggle Listen for “Hey Siri” or Listen for “Siri” off.
- Toggle Raise to Speak off.
Turn Siri off completely on Apple Watch
- Ensure that you’ve followed the steps above to disable voice activation on Apple Watch.
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Siri.
- Toggle off Press Digital Crown.
- Tap Turn Off Siri to confirm.
How to disable Siri Suggestions
Siri Suggestions analyzes how you use your device, including the apps you use, who you contact, and what you search for, to offer shortcuts and recommendations.
Siri Suggestions works independently of the voice features, so you’ll need to turn this off specifically.
Turn off Siri Suggestions on iPhone and iPad
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Siri (or Apple Intelligence & Siri).
- Toggle off the following settings:
- Suggest Apps Before Searching
- Allow Notifications
- Show in App Library
- Show When Sharing
- Show Listening Suggestions
To stop specific apps from appearing in Siri Suggestions, scroll down to Apps on the same screen. Select the app(s) you don’t want and toggle all options off.
Turn off Siri Suggestions on Mac
- Click the Apple icon and select System Settings.
- Select Apple Intelligence & Siri.
- Click About Siri, Dictation & Privacy.
- Deselect the apps you don’t want Siri learning from.
How to delete Siri history
Turning Siri off is a good start to reclaiming your privacy, but it doesn’t erase what’s already been collected. Your past interactions with Siri and Dictation may be stored on Apple’s servers for up to two years. Here’s how to delete your Siri history.
On iPhone and iPad
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Siri (or Apple Intelligence & Siri) → Siri & Dictation History.
- Select Delete Siri & Dictation History.
On Mac
- Click on the Apple icon and select System Settings.
- Select Apple Intelligence & Siri → Siri History.
- Click Delete Siri & Dictation History.
On Apple Watch
- Open the Settings app.
- Go to Siri → Siri History.
- Select Delete Siri History.
How to opt out of Improve Siri & Dictation
By default, Apple may use your Siri data to improve its functionality. Here’s how to opt out on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Privacy & Security.
- Tap Analytics & Improvements.
- Toggle Improve Siri & Dictation off.
Why you should turn off Siri
For Siri to respond to your voice, it has to be listening all the time for the wake phrase “Hey Siri” in the background, with no visual indicator that it’s active. This convenience comes at a cost to your privacy: Voice recognition isn’t perfect, and your device can mistake an unrelated word or sound for the wake phrase. When that happens, an ongoing private conversation can be recorded and sent to Apple’s servers without you realizing it.
This isn’t just a theoretical scenario. In January 2025, Apple settled a class-action lawsuit alleging that accidental Siri activations had recorded private conversations(新視窗). Though Apple denied the claims, they still agreed to a $95 million settlement.
Even outside of accidental activations, using Siri involves a series of privacy trade-offs. Transcripts of your requests can be stored on Apple’s servers for up to two years. Siri Suggestions continuously analyzes your app usage, contacts, and search habits to build a behavioral profile — even when you’re not actively using Siri. And while Apple states that your data isn’t sold or used for advertising, the data still flows to Apple’s infrastructure and can be used at their discretion.
Take back your digital privacy
Turning off Siri is a meaningful step toward reducing how much your device listens to you and what Apple learns about your daily life. But Siri is just one piece of a broader data ecosystem. Every interaction — from voice commands to app suggestions — builds a profile of your habits, preferences, and routines over time.
At Proton, we believe your data should belong to you, not to the platforms you use. Unlike Apple, Proton’s tools are built around end-to-end encryption and a zero-knowledge architecture, which means we can’t read your files, emails, or messages even if we wanted to.
If you’re rethinking how much data your devices collect, it’s also worth looking at what other apps you’re using that could benefit from privacy-first protections — from your email provider to an AI assistant.
Today, the stakes are higher than ever. Find out more in our guide to AI privacy.
Frequently asked questions about Siri
When Siri is ready to process a request or is processing one, a visual indicator appears. On an iPhone and iPad, a colorful orb appears at the bottom of your screen. If you have Apple Intelligence enabled, a glowing light appears around your screen. Similarly, on Mac and Apple Watch, you’llsee the colorful orb appear when Siri is activated.
However, if you have voice activation enabled, Siri listens continuously in the background for the “Hey Siri” wake phrase with no visual indicator. If you’d rather not risk Siri recording your day-to-day conversations, no matter how small that risk may be, you should disable Siri voice activation.
Apple says that much of Siri’s processing happens on-device and that your data isn’t used for advertising or sold to third parties such as data brokers. However, transcripts of your Siri requests may still be stored on Apple’s servers for up to two years. If you opted in to “Improve Siri & Dictation,” audio recordings may also be shared with Apple. In other words, Siri trades off your privacy for convenience.
Some features such as Siri-specific shortcuts, voice commands, and hands-free functionality will also be disabled. That said, your devices will still function normally for everything else — turning off Siri doesn’t affect the core experience of using an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch.
