How to use, configure or remove Siri on Mac
Disable your firewall by clicking the Stop button. 'Firewall Off' will now be displayed above the button. Add or remove specific applications in the firewall by clicking on the Services and Firewall tabs. Place check marks, or click to remove check marks, next to applications or services you want to enable or disable on the firewall.
What is Siri anyway?
In short, it’s an artificial intelligence that uses voice recognition, language processing, and machine learning to help you make dinner plans. It used to be reserved for iOS users, but now it's a normal part of the macOS. Siri on Mac uses the same technologies and the same logic, but can do a little more. For instance, you can export the files she found and ask her to dig into your Mail or documents.
What Siri can do on Mac
Use Command-Tab and Command-Shift-Tab to cycle forward and backward through your open. With Background App Refresh, suspended apps can check for updates and new content. If you want suspended apps to check for new content, go to Settings General Background App Refresh and turn on Background App Refresh. If you quit an app from the app switcher, it might not be able to run or check for new content before you open it again.
You can actually ask Siri about that. She’ll give you a list of example commands you can use for various occasions. Mainly, she can find you files by any criteria, google info and organize it in a visually appealing way (like sport scores), send letters, call or message people, create or cancel meetings, and other everyday stuff.
Does Siri know everything?
Not exactly, but she knows most of what’s happening on your Mac and everything that can be googled. Can Siri read emails? Yep. Can Siri read private messages? Yep. She knows the content of your Mail and messages, but only if you ask her to dig into it. She knows the content of your documents as well, but she doesn’t send this info to Apple servers. What you asked, your location, and tech details about your Mac are sent, but not the contents of what Siri retrieves in response.
Siri knows your names and nicknames, your contacts, the names of songs you’ve got in your collection, photo album titles, and which apps you own. She does know a lot, it’s true. And she has access to the insides of some of your apps, like Notes.
How to get rid of Siri on your Mac?
We’re not going to show you how to delete Siri because frankly, it’s impossible. For better or for worse, Siri is undeletable. However, there are ways to disable it.
How to disable Siri and ensure your privacy
There’s a way to disable Siri manually, but the privacy of the rest of your Mac activity remains in question. To make sure all your data is safe and protected from prying eyes and from being sent to somebody’s servers, get an app like CleanMyMac.
Technically, CleanMyMac is a cleaner, but together with cleaning system junk (which is always a good idea) it disables Siri, cleans caches and cookies, and uninstall harmful apps (so-called bloatware) and extensions.
To disable Siri with CleanMyMac 3:
- Download CleanMyMac for free.
- Launch it and open Extension tab.
- Choose Siri.
- Click Disable.
- Done.
To make sure your Mac is protected and your data is safe:
- Open CleanMyMac 3.
- Open Privacy tab.
- Choose apps and browsers you use.
- Clean cookies and other extra info.
- Open Extensions tab.
- Remove any extension you don’t know.
- Open Uninstaller.
- Remove all the apps you don’t need or don’t recognize.
How to disable Siri on macOS manually
- Open the main Apple menu from top right corner.
- Choose System preferences.
- There’s a new Siri icon, click on it.
- From the right pane uncheck Enable Siri option.
- Uncheck Show Siri in menu bar.
- Now Siri should be disabled and hidden.
Keep in mind that in its Privacy Policy, Apple states that only recent voice input data will be deleted. The older requests will remain on Apple servers, but will be disassociated from you. After you disable Siri, removed adware or bloatware from your Mac, and cleaned up your caches and cookies with, you can be sure your privacy is protected.
That’s about it on how to disable Siri on your Mac. She’s a helpful tool, so you can easily turn her back on should you change your mind. Cheers.
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Here is How to Turn OFF or Disable Camera on Mac, in case you do not use the FaceTime Camera on your MacBook or want to disable the Camera on Mac for security reasons.
Disable Camera on Mac
The built-in Camera on MacBook cannot be physically disconnected because it uses the same bus that connects the MacBook’s screen with the motherboard.
Plugging OFF or physically disconnecting the Camera from MacBook will turn off both camera and the screen of the MacBook.
Hence, the only way to physically disable camera on Mac would be to cover the camera with a sticker, duct tape or by using camera covers as available on Amazon.
If you are looking for a software based solution, you can use any of the methods as provided below to disable the iSight or the built-in Camera on your Mac.
1. Prevent Apps from Using Camera on Mac
If you have a reason to believe that the Camera on your MacBook is being secretly used, you can prevent Apps from using the Camera on your Mac.
1. Click on the Apple logo in top menu bar and click on System Preferences in the drop-down menu.
2. On the System Preferences screen, click on the Security & Privacy tab.
3. On security & Privacy screen, click on Camera in the left pane. In the right-pane, uncheck the Apps having access to the Camera on your Mac.
After this, your Mac will automatically prevent the unchecked Apps from accessing the built-in iSight Camera.
2. Prevent Websites from Accessing Camera on Mac
Depending on your Safari settings, the websites that you visit may gain access to the Camera on your MacBook.
Hence, follow the steps below to disable Camera Access to all websites.
1. Open the Safari browser on your Mac.
2. Next, click on the Safari tab in top menu bar and select Preferences… in the drop-down menu.
3. On the next screen, click on the Websites tab > click on Camera in the left pane and select either Ask or Deny option for Websites listed under “Allow websites to access the Camera”.
Also, select Deny or Ask option for “While visiting other websites” option.
Choosing Deny option will prevent websites from accessing the Camera on your Mac, while selecting the “Ask” option will make the websites to prompt you to either Allow or Deny access to Camera.
3. Disable Camera on Mac Using Parental Controls
The parental Controls feature on Mac provides an easy way to Turn OFF the camera on your Mac.
This feature allows you to Turn OFF the Camera for any of the User Accounts on your Mac, while allowing the Camera to work normally on other User Accounts.
1. Open System Preferences on your Mac > click on Parental Controls.
Mac Disable App Switcher Software
2. On the next screen, click on Enable Parental Controls button.
Note: You may have to click on the Lock Icon and enter your Admin Password to gain access to this setting.
3. On Parental Controls screen, select the User Account in the left pane. In the right pane, click on the Apps tab and uncheck Allow Use of Camera option.
This will prevent all the Apps on your Mac from using the built-in Camera on Mac and also the plugin Webcam (if any).
Why Some Users Disable Camera on Mac
Face Switcher App
Mac deleted app still appears in launchpad. The built-in Camera on MacBook is commonly referred to as the FaceTime Camera, while officially it is known as iSight Camera.
The Camera on MacBook can be used to make FaceTime calls to family/friends and also to conduct online business meetings using Skype.
However, some users want to disable the Camera on Mac to prevent the possibility of malware abusing the video capability of the MacBook to secretly record video sessions.
Best mac app removal tool. OSX/FruitFly, OSX/Crisis, OSX/Mokes are some of the known Mac Malware programs that are known to spy on unsuspecting Mac users.
Note: If you are concerned about your privacy, using third-party apps to block the webcam on your Mac is not a good idea.