How to Disable Contact Suggestions From the Share Sheet on iPhone and iPad

With the iOS and iPadOS 14 updates, Apple has at long last brought an option to remove contacts from iOS’ multi-purpose share sheets, which not only helps increase your privacy but also makes the share sheet less dense.

You probably know that by default your iPhone and iPad suggest a list of people whenever you tap the Share button. It’s easy to share things accidentally. Starting with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, you can remove suggested contacts from the Share sheet.

The Problem: Contacts in the Share Sheet

Apple uses the Share menu for more than just sharing something with friends. It’s also how you perform actions on an item, such as duplicating a photo or saving a PDF to the Files app.

Depending on what you’re trying to do, seeing a list of your friends or family members pop up when you’re just trying to copy a file can be surprising. You might worry that a stray tap would share a link or piece of media with someone by accident. Luckily, starting with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, it’s now easy to completely remove the list of sharing suggestions on the Share sheet.

An example of Siri contact suggestions in the iPhone Share sheet.

How to Remove People From the Share Menu

To remove these contacts from the Share menu, open “Settings” on your iPhone or iPad.

Tap the "Settings" icon on iPhone

Tap “Siri & Search.”

In Settings, tap "Siri & Search."

In “Siri & Search,” tap the switch beside “Suggestions when sharing” to turn it off.

In Settings, tap "Suggestions when Sharing" to turn it off.

Exit “Settings.” The next time you tap “Share” in an app, you’ll notice that the list of sharing suggestions is now gone. Instead, you’ll just see the regular row of app icons and a list of potential actions below.

An example of the Share sheet on iPhone without the contact suggestions.

This one small change can potentially bring a great deal of peace of mind to some iPhone and iPad users, but if you ever want to bring it back, just enable the “Suggestions when Sharing” option in Settings again.

How to Remove Contacts from Share Sheet in iOS 13 or Older

If you want to remove contacts from the Share sheet on an iPhone or iPad running an older operating system—in other words, iOS 13 or below on an iPhone and iPadOS 13 or below on an iPad—you’ll need to delete a conversation within the Messages app or within other apps that support Share extensions, such as Discord

Even if you’re running iOS or iPadOS 14, it’s possible to temporarily remove particular contacts from your Share sheet this way.

Deleting message threads is not an ideal fix, however, so if your device supports it, consider updating your iPhone to iOS 14 or updating your iPad to iOS 14 (or whatever newer operating system is available), and you’ll be able to completely disable contact suggestions in the Share menu. Good luck!

READ MORE:  How to Fix iPhone Speaker That is Not Working

4 Replies to “How to Disable Contact Suggestions From the Share Sheet on iPhone and iPad”

  1. Hi,

    I hope you are doing well. I am reaching to invite you for an expert roundup on the topic, “hidden cams”. I genuinely want you to contribute your valuable opinion on this.

    The question of interest is, ” Security Experts’ Advice On How To Find Wireless Hidden Cams In Private Places”. I understand your busy schedule that is why it would be great if you can contribute only 100 words.

    I’ll add your website and Twitter profile link in the post for sure.

    Looking forward to hearing from you.

    Best,

    Umer khan

  2. Hello,

    This is an invitation to an expert roundup on the topic, “Online Education system”.

    I naturally want you to contribute your valuable opinion.

    The question of interest is, “30 Educationists Unveil The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Online Education” I understand your busy schedule that is why I wouldn’t require a lengthy response but 100 words only.

    I’ll add your Website and Twitter profile link in the post for sure.

    Thank you.

    Sincerely,

    Rose Emilie

  3. Hi,

    I hope you are doing well.

    I want to contribute a guest post article to your website that may interest your readers.

    It would be of high quality and free of cost. You can choose the topic of the article from the topic ideas that I’ll send you in my next email once you approve this offer.

    Please note that I will need you to give me a backlink within the guest post article.

    Please let me know if I shall send over some amazing topic ideas?

    Regards,

    Lindsay Johnson

Leave a Reply