How do you turn off dictation on iPhone?

To turn off dictation on iPhone, you change one switch. Open Settings, tap General, tap Keyboard, and turn off Enable Dictation. Apple's steps use the same screen where you turn the feature on ¹. These steps are for iOS 27. If your phone runs an older version, check the menu names on your own screen, because the names can differ.

Turn off Enable Dictation in the Keyboard settings

Follow these steps on your iPhone.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap General, then tap Keyboard.
3. Turn off Enable Dictation.

The same screen turns it back on. You turn on Enable Dictation, then confirm the prompt if one appears ². Apple's dictation steps do not describe a separate setting for the microphone key. When the key does not appear, Apple's steps send you back to Enable Dictation, so turning that switch off is the control that removes the key from Apple's keyboard. For the full set of options around the key, see how to remove the dictation button on iPhone.

Turn off automatic punctuation to keep dictation and drop the automatic marks

Sometimes you want dictation to stay on, but you do not want the phone to add commas, periods and question marks. In that case, do not turn off Enable Dictation. Go to Settings, then General, then Keyboard, and turn off Auto-Punctuation ³. Auto-Punctuation is a separate control, so the microphone key stays. You can still say the name of a mark when you need one, such as "exclamation point" ⁴.

The automatic punctuation entry explains the marks the phone adds on its own, and the dictation punctuation guide covers punctuation in more detail.

Turning dictation off does not replace the privacy choices

Turning off Enable Dictation stops new dictation. It is a separate step from the Improve Siri and Dictation choice. Apple says that when that setting is on, Apple can store and review a sample of the audio of your Siri and Dictation interactions ⁵. Apple's article points to a privacy page for dictation, which you reach by tapping About Dictation & Privacy below the dictation settings ⁶. Read it there, then decide what you want to keep. The entry on Improve Siri and Dictation explains the setting in more detail, and our guide to Apple dictation privacy sets out what Apple keeps and why.

If the microphone belongs to another keyboard, Apple's switch does not cover it

Some people see a microphone key that does not come from Apple. That key may belong to a keyboard you installed, such as Gboard, and it is not controlled by the Apple switch in Keyboard settings. Apple's Dictation article covers Apple's keyboard only. Google's App Store listing for Gboard on iPhone says that voice input from the Gboard microphone is sent to Google for transcription ⁷. If you want that microphone to stop, switch back to Apple's keyboard, or remove the other keyboard. The Gboard voice typing guide for iPhone covers that keyboard in more detail.

To see which keyboards you have turned on, touch and hold the Globe key while you type. Apple says this shows all your enabled keyboards, and that tapping the key switches between them ⁸.

Check the steps before you rely on them

Apple's steps are for iOS 27. The menus can move between versions. A Screen Time restriction can also block built-in features, because Allowed Apps lists the features that can be turned off ⁹. If you cannot change the switch, check the troubleshooting guide for iPhone dictation before you assume the feature is broken. The overview of dictation on phones and tablets links the other steps in order.

Related answers

• What is dictation on iPhone?
• How do you remove the dictation button on iPhone?
• How do you dictate notes on iPhone?
• Does Apple dictation work offline?

For the full steps and the other settings in one place, read the guide to using dictation on iPhone.