Beyond playing music, the HomePod offers handy extras such as having Siri dictate your incoming text messages out loud. The catch is that anyone within voice range can simply ask Siri to relay the messages stored on your phone. Below is a quick walkthrough for switching that capability off.
When you first configured your HomePod, a prompt asked whether you wanted to activate a setting known as "Personal Requests." Turning it on lets you ask Siri to fetch your most recent texts (and even dictate replies), set up reminders, and jot quick notes. The downside is that anybody standing near the speaker can tap into your messages provided your iPhone shares the same Wi-Fi network as the HomePod—an arrangement that may feel intrusive in shared living spaces.
Should you have breezed through setup and toggled everything on, or simply reconsidered later, disabling the feature takes only a moment.
Begin by launching the Home app and selecting the small location-arrow icon positioned in the upper-left corner of the display.
Next, choose your profile image listed beneath the "People" heading.
Finally, flip the toggle beside "Personal Requests" to the off position if it remains active.
That's the whole process! Afterward, neither you nor anyone else will be able to summon texts, notes, reminders, and similar items through the speaker—handy for keeping curious housemates out of your private business.
Craig Lloyd writes about smarthome for How-To Geek, and is an aspiring handyman who loves tinkering with anything and everything around the house. He's also a mediocre gamer, aviation geek, baseball fan, motorcyclist, and proud introvert.
