With proactive Siri, you can ensure that phone calls and messages are already mentioned as a possible contact person. But that can also put you on the wrong track. In this article, we will learn how to switch off the suggestions for contacts.
Switch Off Suggestions for contacts
Proactive Siri makes your life a lot easier. For example, you get suggestions for apps and when someone calls, Siri tries to find out who it could be. Apple looks into your e-mail messages and makes a guess who the caller is. That is super convenient, but there are also situations that lead to misunderstandings. That way you run the risk of phishing. If a phone call comes in with the text 'Maybe: some bank' you are more likely to answer privacy questions such as your date of birth and home address. If you prefer to switch it off, you can.
Disable contact suggestions on iOS
Suggestions for contacts come from the Mail app and other apps on your iPhone. These are the contacts that have not yet been confirmed and are therefore not yet in the Contacts app. It concerns possible names of contacts, based on phone numbers that Siri has found in your e-mail. They appear with phone calls when you invite people to a calendar event or when you receive an SMS or iMessage message.
This is how you switch it off:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Scroll to Contacts.
- Tap Siri and search.
- Turn the switch off at Find contacts in other apps.
Why would you want to switch it off? Some people find it annoying that iOS scans your e-mail messages and sniffs contact information. Although this information remains local and has been made with respect for your privacy, it may seem obtrusive to some users. If you have friends or family members who complain about the fact that name suggestions always appear in the picture, you can disable them with the steps above.
Because proactive Siri works only locally on your device, the suggestions for each device can be different. Incoming calls will from now on enter as an unknown number, if the person is not in your address book.
Incidentally, the contact suggestions do not appear on your Apple Watch and on iCloud.com, because it is a function that only works locally on your device.
Disable contact suggestions on the macOS
You can also turn off suggestions for mail contacts on the Mac:
- Open the Contacts app on the Mac.
- Go to Preferences> General.
- Turn off the switch at Show contacts found by Siri in programs.
- Confirm your choice.
You will have to do this on every Mac you use. Unconfirmed contacts will no longer be included in the autocomplete of the Mail app and the Calendar app.
That is it! You are done with turning off the contacts suggestions on iOS and macOS devices. I hope this article will help you in a good way. If you have any queries regarding the above method, let us know them in the below comment box and we will get back to you to solve all your questions with the best solution we got.
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