How to let Siri sync data across your devices

Find out how to let Siri use iCloud to sync its machine learning data across all your Apple devices so you get an improved and uniform Siri experience irrespective of the iPhone, iPad, or Mac you use the voice assistant on.

Siri and iCloud

iOS and macOS allow Siri to keep its “brain” in perfect sync across your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV devices in order to better personalize your queries. This handy feature is essential to offering a more seamless Siri experience based on your personal usage of the personal assistant on each of your devices.

By using iCloud to sync on-device machine learning data across your Apple gear, Siri combines knowledge of your behaviors with contextual data found on every device you own. It helps Siri’s machine learning become smarter as it gets a more complete picture of you.

Siri data sync and your security

The ability for Siri to sync data via iCloud keeps your personal information as secure as it has ever been because your data is end-to-end encrypted as it travels between devices.

Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at WWDC 2017 said:

“Siri understands context, your interests, and how you use your device. What Siri learns about you on device is kept synced across all of your devices and kept completely private, readable on all of your devices.”

Turn on Siri iCloud sync

You should follow these steps on every device where you want to permit Siri to use iCloud and enjoy a more seamless voice assistant experience.

On iOS

  1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
  2. Tap your name from the top.
  3. Tap iCloud > Show All.
  4. Turn on the switch next to Siri.
Turn on iCloud for Siri on iPhone

Siri will now sync machine learning data gathered on this device with iCloud.

Note: watchOS lacks this switch because Siri on Apple Watch already uses data from your paired iPhone. In other words, setting up Siri data syncing on an iPhone lets your Apple Watch take advantage of synchronized machine learning data from its paired iPhone. This is also true for Siri on Apple TV.

On macOS

  1. Open System Settings and click your Apple ID name from the top left.
  2. Select iCloud and click Show More Apps.
  3. Turn on the Siri switch.
  4. Click Done.
Allow Siri access for iCloud on Mac

Doing so lets Siri on this Mac take advantage of iCloud syncing to use machine learning data gathered from your other devices along with any data accumulated on this device.

Other Siri tips: