How to Use Siri on Your iPhone

Siri is a voice assistant built into every iPhone. Instead of typing or tapping, you can speak out loud and Siri will answer questions, make phone calls, send text messages, set reminders, give you directions, and much more — all without you touching your phone.

This guide explains how to wake Siri up, what you can ask it, and how to adjust a few settings to make it work the way you want.

What Siri can do for you

Siri is particularly helpful if you find small text hard to read, if your hands are busy, or if typing on a phone screen feels uncomfortable. You speak naturally — you do not need to memorize exact commands. Siri understands everyday language.

Here are 15 things you can ask Siri right now:

1. 1**"Call Mom"** — Siri dials the contact from your phone book. If you have more than one number for that person, Siri will ask which one.
2. 2**"Set a timer for 20 minutes"** — Siri starts a countdown right away. Helpful when you are cooking or doing laundry.
3. 3**"Text Sarah: I'll be there at 3"** — Siri writes and sends a text message for you. It will read the message back and ask you to confirm before sending.
4. 4**"Get directions to Walgreens"** — Siri opens Apple Maps and shows you the nearest location with turn-by-turn directions.
5. 5**"What's the weather tomorrow?"** — Siri gives you the forecast for your location.
6. 6**"Set an alarm for 7 AM"** — Siri creates an alarm in your Clock app.
7. 7**"Play relaxing music"** — Siri plays music through Apple Music, Spotify, or whichever music app you use.
8. 8**"What is the capital of France?"** — Siri searches the internet and reads the answer aloud.
9. 9**"Open the Photos app"** — Siri opens any app on your phone by name.
10. 10**"Read my notifications"** — Siri reads your unread alerts aloud so you do not have to look at the screen.
11. 11**"Turn on the flashlight"** — Siri activates the light on the back of your iPhone instantly.
12. 12**"What song is this?"** — Hold your phone near music that is playing and Siri identifies the song and artist.
13. 13**"Remind me to take my medication at 8 PM"** — Siri sets a timed reminder in your Reminders app.
14. 14**"How do you say thank you in Spanish?"** — Siri translates words and phrases into dozens of languages.
15. 15**"Add milk to my shopping list"** — Siri adds items to your Reminders or shopping list app.

A note on privacy

Siri processes your voice on your device as much as possible. Apple does not store your voice recordings by default. You can review Apple's privacy policy at apple.com/privacy. If you prefer not to use Siri at all, you can turn it off completely — see Step 5 below.

Before you start

Make sure your iPhone is running a current version of iOS. Open Settings, tap General, then tap Software Update to check. Siri works best with a reliable Wi-Fi or cell signal when answering questions from the internet, though basic tasks like timers and alarms work without any connection.