How Siri Suggestions Work on iOS 12 Lock Screen

Siri Suggestions on the iOS 12 lock screen use on-device machine learning to analyze your daily habits and surface proactive shortcuts precisely when you need them. Introduced as a core feature of iOS 12, these notifications anticipate your next action—such as ordering coffee, calling a colleague, or enabling Do Not Disturb—and allow you to complete tasks with a single tap directly from the lock screen.

On-Device Machine Learning and Routine Tracking

Siri analyzes how you interact with your device throughout the day. Instead of sending your personal data to external servers, all processing happens locally on your iPhone or iPad to preserve privacy.

The system monitors specific contextual triggers to build patterns:

  • Time of Day: Recognizing tasks you perform every morning, afternoon, or evening.
  • Geographic Location: Identifying actions tied to your home, workplace, gym, or commute.
  • Device Status: Detecting when you plug in headphones, connect to CarPlay, or leave a Wi-Fi network.
  • Calendar and Contacts: Tracking upcoming meetings, travel reservations, and missed communications.

How Suggestions Appear and Function

When your routine aligns with your current context, a Siri Suggestion card automatically appears on your lock screen like a standard notification.

Common examples include:

  • Prompting you to return a missed call from a known contact.
  • Suggesting that you turn on Do Not Disturb before a scheduled movie or meeting begins.
  • Offering a one-tap action to order your regular coffee order at the time you normally place it.
  • Reminding you to send a message to a meeting organizer if your location data indicates you will arrive late.

Interacting with these suggestions is designed to minimize friction. Tapping the suggestion immediately executes the action, often without requiring you to fully unlock the device or open the corresponding app.

Customizing and Disabling Lock Screen Suggestions

Apple provides granular control over how Siri Suggestions appear on the lock screen, allowing users to customize suggestions globally or on an app-by-app basis.

To adjust these settings:

  1. Open the Settings app on your device.
  2. Select Siri & Search.
  3. Under the Suggestions on Lock Screen section, toggle off any apps you do not want Siri to suggest actions for.

To turn off lock screen suggestions entirely, you can disable the feature for individual apps or turn off Siri Suggestions permissions across the system within the same menu.