Tip Day: Turn Off Contact Suggestions in Mail
This article explains how to stop Mail from suggesting contacts when you start typing in the To, Cc, or Bcc fields, and how to turn off the related contact photo and name suggestions. You can disable these features in the Settings app on iPhone and iPad, and in Mail’s Preferences on a Mac, with the steps below.
What Contact Suggestions in Mail Do
Contact suggestions in Mail are part of the system-wide Contacts app integration. When you begin typing a name or email address, Mail searches your contacts, your recent messages, and your device’s local database to offer completions. This is meant to speed up addressing, but it can also surface outdated addresses, old colleagues, or people you’d rather not see. The suggestions appear as a list under the address field, and tapping one fills in the full name and email.
On iPhone and iPad, this feature is controlled by a single toggle called “Show Suggestions in Mail” inside the Contacts settings. On Mac, the equivalent setting lives in Mail’s Preferences under the General tab, labeled “Addressing.” Disabling it stops the predictive list from appearing, but it does not delete your contacts or your sent message history.
How to Turn Off Contact Suggestions on iPhone and iPad
The toggle is not inside the Mail app itself; it is in the system Settings app. Follow these steps on iOS or iPadOS:
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap Contacts.
- Tap Siri & Search (on some versions it is directly under Contacts).
- Find Show Suggestions in Mail and turn the switch off.
- If you also want to stop Mail from suggesting names when you use Siri dictation, turn off Learn from this App on the same screen.
After you disable this, Mail will still autocomplete addresses that you have typed before in the same message, but it will no longer offer the predictive list of names and emails from your contacts or recent messages.
How to Turn Off Contact Suggestions on Mac
On macOS, the setting is in Mail’s own preferences. Here is how to change it:
- Open the Mail app.
- From the top menu bar, click Mail > Settings (or Preferences on older macOS versions).
- Click the General tab.
- Look for the Addressing section.
- Uncheck Automatically complete addresses (or set it to None if you see a dropdown).
This stops Mail from suggesting any names or addresses as you type. If you still see suggestions, also check whether you have a third-party contact manager or a corporate profile that enforces its own autocomplete settings.
What the Toggle Actually Changes
Turning off “Show Suggestions in Mail” does not clear the address history that Mail keeps. It only hides the predictive suggestions. Your contacts remain fully intact, and you can still type a full email address manually. The change applies to new messages and replies; it does not affect messages you have already sent.
One common misconception is that this toggle also removes the contact photos that appear next to names in the message list. It does not. Those photos come from the Contacts app and are controlled by a separate setting under Mail > Preferences > Viewing on Mac, or by the general contact photo display settings on iOS. If you want to hide photos in the message list, look for a setting called “Show Contact Photos” or “Show Avatars” in Mail’s preferences.
Why You Might Still See Suggestions After Turning It Off
If you have disabled the setting and suggestions still appear, check these possibilities:
- iCloud Contacts syncing: If you use iCloud, the setting is stored per device. You must turn it off on each device separately.
- Exchange or corporate accounts: Some work email accounts use a server-side global address list that Mail will still query. The toggle only affects local suggestions.
- Third-party keyboard: A custom keyboard may have its own autocomplete feature that mimics Mail’s suggestions. Check the keyboard’s settings.
- Mail extensions: If you have installed a mail extension or plugin, it might add its own suggestions. Try disabling extensions temporarily to test.
If none of these apply, restarting Mail or your device usually clears any cached suggestion data.
Alternative: Clear the Recent Addresses List
If you do not want to disable suggestions entirely but want to remove specific old addresses, you can clear Mail’s recent address history. On iPhone and iPad, go to Settings > Mail > Reset and tap Reset Recent Addresses. On Mac, open Mail, go to the Window menu, select Previous Recipients, then select the addresses you want to remove and click Remove From List. This does not delete contacts, only the list of people you have emailed recently.
Keep in mind that this history is separate from the contact suggestions toggle. Even with suggestions off, Mail may still autocomplete from this recent list if you have left the “Automatically complete addresses” option on. To fully stop all autocomplete, you need to turn off both the suggestion toggle and the autocomplete setting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning off contact suggestions delete my contacts?
No. The setting only hides the predictive suggestions. Your contacts in the Contacts app remain unchanged.
Does this affect email addresses I type manually?
No. You can still type any full email address manually. The setting only stops the app from offering suggestions as you type.
Why do I see suggestions on my Mac but not on my iPhone?
The setting is per device. You need to turn it off separately on each iPhone, iPad, and Mac where you want it disabled.
Can I turn off only the contact photos, not the suggestions?
Yes. On iPhone, go to Settings > Mail > Message List and turn off Show Contact Photos. On Mac, go to Mail > Preferences > Viewing and uncheck Show Contact Photos.
Will this stop Mail from suggesting names when I start a new message?
Yes, for the local suggestions. If you use an Exchange account, the server may still provide a global address list, but that is separate from the local autocomplete.
Does this affect the search function in Mail?
No. The search function still works normally. The setting only affects the address fields when composing a message.
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