Siri can be an extremely helpful service on your iPhone as it can tell you pretty much everything you need to know! But if your Siri is reading your text messages aloud and you don’t want it to, don’t worry. We have the step by step instructions here to stop Siri from reading your text messages.
To stop Siri from reading your text messages, you need to navigate to the Settings menu on your iPhone. From there, simply select the Notifications option, then click Announce Notifications about halfway down the screen, and click the toggle to turn them off.
But that’s not all you need to know! In this article, we are not only going to go into the detailed instructions of how to stop Siri from reading text messages but also how to customize which messages can be read out loud and a whole lot more!
How to Stop Siri From Reading Text Messages
The very first thing you will want to know is exactly how to stop Siri from reading your text messages out loud.
And luckily, it’s really quite simple and should only take a few seconds. Here’s what you need to do:
Click on the Settings app icon.
Select the Notifications menu.
Click Announce Notifications.
At the top of the screen, the toggle will be green.
Tap the toggle to turn the announcements off (the toggle will turn gray.)
That’s all there is to it! Siri will no longer read your text messages out loud.
However, it is important to understand that by turning off the announcements, you are doing more than stopping your Siri from reading the messages.
Can Siri Still Announce Text Messages Without Reading Them?
Unfortunately, there is no current option to allow Siri to announce that you received a text message without reading the message aloud.
Therefore, when you turn off the Announce Messages toggle, you will no longer be alerted by Siri that you have a new message or call.
For some, this lack of differentiation can be frustrating as they want to know they have a message without actually hearing the text spoken out loud.
However, as long as you have your phone on loud, you will, of course, hear the notification sound and know you have received a message.
Can You Ask Siri to Read a Text Message Out Loud?
Now, if you have turned off the Announce Notifications setting, you may be wondering if you can still ask Siri to read you a text message you received.
But disappointingly, once you opt to turn off the Announce Notifications settings, you cannot directly ask Siri to read a message to you when your headphones are connected.
That being said, there is a way to enable Siri to read the screen to you. However, you need to use your hands to open the screen first in order to do so.
If you don’t mind opening your phone first, you can use the Screen Speak option to get Siri to read the text out loud to you.
And here is how to enable this option:
- Open your iPhone or iPad.
- Select the Settings menu icon.
- Click Accessibility.
- Tap the option for Spoken Content.
- Select the option labeled Speak Selection.
- Click to enable Screen Speak.
From there, as soon as the screen is open to the message, you can simply say “Siri, speak screen” to hear your text message read aloud.
How to Customize Siri’s Notification Announcements
Although Siri cannot announce text messages without reading them or read just one text message after you’ve turned off the Announce Notifications without using Screen Speak, there are still ways to customize Siri’s notifications.
When you follow the instructions listed above to turn off the Announce Notifications, there is an option to select Messages below the main toggle.
If you do so, you will see customizable options that offer Siri alerts for Time Sensitive messages, Direct messages, or All Notifications.
However, you should understand that if you select one of these options, Siri will read all of those messages out loud automatically.
Final Thoughts
As promised, you now know absolutely everything there is to know about stopping Siri from reading text messages out loud.
Although Siri can do a lot, as you have recently learned, there are a few frustrating aspects of stopping Siri from reading your text messages.
So remember: You can stop Siri from reading text messages by turning off the Announce Notifications within the Settings menu of your Apple device. However, when you do so, you will not be alerted by Siri that you have a new text message.
Finally, you can use Siri Speak Screen to read your text message aloud after you have turned off the Announce Notification setting, but you will need to open your device first in order to do so.
