How do you delete Siri and Dictation history on a Mac?

You can delete Siri and Dictation request history from System Settings on a Mac. Apple's steps remove both the audio recordings and the transcripts, but only for history less than six months old, and only while the Mac is online. The steps below are for macOS Tahoe 26, and the menu names differ on older versions.

On macOS Tahoe 26, the delete button is in the Siri settings

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings. You can also open System Settings from the Dock.
2. Click Apple Intelligence & Siri in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down. On a Mac where the name shown is Siri, click that instead ¹.
3. Click Delete Siri & Dictation History. Apple's steps end with that button and a second click on Delete to confirm ².

We checked these steps against Apple's Help page for macOS Tahoe 26 on October 16, 2026.

Your Mac must be connected to the internet

Apple says you must be connected to the internet to delete Siri and Dictation history ³. If the button does nothing or the deletion fails, check your connection first. Then run the steps again while the Mac is online.

The steps remove only history less than six months old

Apple's Help says you can delete request history, both audio recordings and transcripts, if it is less than six months old ⁴. The steps are limited to history associated with a random identifier, so the older history is not covered.

Apple says that request history may be kept for up to two years ⁵. Apple's steps describe no way to remove history older than six months, so you cannot clear all of it yourself from these steps. Apple does not say how the two-year period is counted, so treat two years as Apple's stated limit, not a date you can rely on.

Deleting history does not stop future storage. To stop Apple keeping new audio of your dictation, turn off Improve Siri & Dictation in System Settings, under Privacy & Security, then Analytics & Improvements ⁶. Apple's steps for deletion and for the setting are separate, so do both if you want less kept.

Older macOS versions use different menu names

We have not read Apple's steps for other macOS releases. If your names differ from these, check Apple Help for your version before you follow the steps.

iPhone deletion steps are not covered here

This guide covers the Mac. Apple's steps for deleting Siri and Dictation history on an iPhone are in different settings, and we did not check them for this page. Read Apple's iPhone help before you rely on any steps for the phone.

For the broader question, read our guide to Apple's dictation privacy and our overview of dictation on Mac. To see what Apple keeps and why, read whether Apple keeps recordings of what you dictate. If you handle patient or client information, read whether Apple Dictation is HIPAA compliant before you decide whether to use it. For what the Siri name refers to, see our glossary entry for Siri.