Apple consistently strives to improve its virtual assistant and secure its place at the top of the chart. Siri often gets new features and fixes in software updates based on user feedback, and Siri’s silent responses are one of many on the list.
You can choose how Siri responds to your voice commands. But if you don’t want to go through the hassle of switching between silent and spoken responses every time, there’s also an option to let your iPhone decide it for you. So, read on to learn how to put this feature to use.
When Are Silent Responses Useful?
Enabling silent responses from Siri allows you to hold a discreet conversation without attracting any attention from anyone around you. This is especially useful in public settings and meetings. It also maintains privacy and ensures no one else is privy to any sensitive information.
Moreover, people with hearing impairments will find this feature especially beneficial as they can receive their responses through text, granting equal access to everyone. The iPhone has many other great accessibility features that aid anyone with a disability.
How to Enable Silent Responses for Siri on Your iPhone
On iPhones running iOS 16.2 and later, users have three options to choose how Siri responds to their commands. Unlike before, the options are quite straightforward. Here’s what you need to do to enable silent responses:
- Open Settings.
- Scroll down and go to Siri & Search.
- Select Siri Responses from the list of options under Ask Siri.
- Choose between Prefer Silent Responses and Automatic.
When Prefer Silent Responses is selected, Siri will always respond silently unless you’re driving or using headphones with the screen off. However, setting it to Automatic will let your iPhone decide when Siri should respond to your queries quietly.
You can also access these options from Settings > Accessibility > Siri > Spoken Responses. If you want Siri as silent as can be, take it a step further and stop Siri reading your notifications out loud.
Customize Siri’s Responses to Suit Your Preferences
You can have Siri respond quietly to ensure privacy and discretion or select spoken responses to hear everything Siri has to say. You also have the option to use on-device intelligence so that Siri can automatically determine when to be loud. Besides silent and spoken responses, you can also make Siri listen to your queries for longer if you feel it’s a bit impatient.