> It never gets sent to Apple and no other application can read it.
Malware can read it. See the list of Apple iOS Security Updates.
If Apple doesn't receive the data and the user doesn't want the data, let's avoid collecting it.
Similar to Microsoft having to separate/unbundle their web browser from their operating system.
The idea that there is this demand to fully disable it is bizarre to me.
And if you have malware that can access the entire file system then reading a Siri search index is the least of your troubles.
Apple provides a setting to disable Siri. It does not function as users expect. Either remove the setting and state that users are forced to use Siri, or improve the usability.
> Users want to be able to search for apps, contacts, mail etc which is why it’s a standard feature of every operating system.
Typically an optional feature with one setting to disable it, e.g. people have long disabled Windows Indexing to improve performance and battery life. Or to use a 3rd-party search tool. Why was Siri ("AI") conflated with Spotlight (search) on iOS?
> If you have malware that can access the entire file system then reading a Siri search index is the least of your troubles.
With malware that can access the entire file system, we don't want to provide a gift-wrapped search and user behavior index that has been quietly collected by Apple. Let malware do its own CPU-intensive rummaging through each app, increasing the odds of detection.
Same with contacts in the phone app. If I look for an app I just find the icon in the list because I don't have so many.
A global search is a cool feature for people who don't know where to look but it's not something that everyone would want.
> A global search is a cool feature for people who don't know where to look
Not sure these people exist in enough numbers to justify a mention, or that the feature is primarily used by or useful to these supposed users.