In this step-by-step tutorial, we’ll explain how to prevent specific files, folders, disks, categories, and file types from showing up in Spotlight Search on your Mac to strengthen your privacy.
Why exclude items from Spotlight?
You can use Spotlight, accessed by pressing Command + Space Bar, to find almost any file or folder on your Mac.
However, if you share your Mac with others without creating a separate account for them or have sensitive media, you can easily exclude selected files and folders from appearing in Spotlight search results. This keeps them private and prevents them from being easily found or opened. You can even exclude entire disks, volumes, or partitions from being indexed by Spotlight!
Additionally, rarely used files or unnecessary media can clutter the Spotlight search pane every time you search for something. You can take care of these as well by following the steps below.
Lastly, if you prefer not to see certain categories, such as contacts, Siri suggestions, or reminders, in Spotlight results, you can customize your settings to hide them.
Stop files and folders from showing up in Spotlight Search
Before you begin:
- You can’t ask Spotlight to hide individual files from search results. Therefore, to exclude particular files from showing in Spotlight, you must first put them in a folder.
- If you want to block an entire disk, volume, or partition from showing up in Spotlight, make sure it is visible on your Mac’s desktop. After that, you can drag and drop them in Step 4 (screenshot below). Note that if the macOS volume or partition is locked, you must enter its password and unlock it first.
On recent versions of macOS
1) Open System Settings on your Mac running macOS Ventura, macOS Sonoma, macOS Sequoia, or macOS Tahoe and select Spotlight or Siri & Spotlight from the left sidebar.
2) To exclude certain categories, uncheck them under the ‘Results from Apps’ or ‘Spotlight Search Results’ heading. You can also scroll down to the ‘Results from System’ heading to prevent apps, files, folders, iPhone apps, and menu items from appearing in Spotlight.
3) To exclude folders from showing up in Mac’s search, click the Search Privacy or Spotlight Privacy button at the bottom. After that, click the plus button (+), select the folder, and click Choose. Finally, click Done to save the changes and exit this screen.
4) To exclude entire disks, just drag and drop them over the Privacy screen.
If you decide you want to see the excluded folder again in Spotlight, select it on the above screen and click the minus button (-) to remove it from the list. After a short while, your Mac should re-index the contents and show them during relevant searches.
On macOS Monterey and earlier
Follow these steps to prevent files, folders, or disks from showing in Spotlight Search on a Mac running an older version of macOS:
- Open System Preferences and click Spotlight.
- Go to the Privacy tab.
- Drag and drop a folder or disk on this System Preferences screen to prevent it from showing up in Spotlight.
- You can also click the plus button (+) from the bottom left and select the folder you want to exclude. To pick more than one folder at the same location, press the Command key and select them. Finally, click Choose to add them to the list of exclusions.
Prevent categories from showing in Spotlight: In addition to folders, you can also exclude entire categories, kinds, or types of content from appearing in Spotlight. For instance, if you don’t want to see definitions, calculations, or movies in Spotlight search results, you can do that on a Mac running macOS Monterey and earlier.
- Open Mac’s System Preferences and click Spotlight.
- Make sure you’re in the Search Results tab.
- Uncheck the listed categories, such as Applications, Bookmarks & History, Contacts, etc., that you don’t want to see in Spotlight while performing a search.
This is how you can change the privacy options for Spotlight on Mac and have it eliminate certain files, folders, disks, and categories from displaying in search results. Just like Mac, you can also tweak the Search settings on your iPhone and iPad.
Also check out: How to reveal a file’s path in Spotlight for Mac with a simple keystroke