Spotlight and App Intents: how system search reaches apps

Spotlight is Apple's system-wide search on Mac, iPhone and iPad. It finds content inside apps when those apps add it to the on-device search index or describe it with App Intents, and in macOS Tahoe it can also run actions that apps offer.

Many people use Spotlight to open apps and files. The more interesting part is what happens when an app takes part: a note, a document or a customer record can show up in system search, and a tap opens it in place. Whether that happens depends entirely on how each app is built.

How to open Spotlight

• Mac. Press Command-Space, or click the magnifying glass in the menu bar.
• iPhone and iPad. Swipe down from the middle of the Home Screen. Recent versions also show a Search button at the bottom of the Home Screen.

Start typing and results arrive grouped by kind: apps, files, messages, web suggestions and content from apps that have added it to search.

How apps feed Spotlight

Apps do not appear in search by accident. A developer has to add content or describe it, using one or more of Apple's frameworks.

Mechanism	What it does	Typical use
Core Spotlight	An app adds items, each with a title, description and keywords, to an on-device search index. Selecting a result opens that item in its app.	Notes, documents, records
NSUserActivity	An app marks what you are viewing as searchable, so recently viewed items can come back in results.	The page or record you just looked at
App Intents	An app describes its actions and kinds of content to the system. Siri, Shortcuts and Spotlight all use these descriptions.	Open a record, create a new one, run a step

App Intents is the newer and broader of the three. Instead of handing the system a list of items, an app explains what it can do and what kinds of things it holds. The system can then offer those actions in several places at once.

What macOS Tahoe added

macOS Tahoe (macOS 26) gave Spotlight a larger role on the Mac. According to Apple:

• Actions. You can take actions straight from Spotlight, such as sending an email or creating a note, without switching to another app to find the right window.
• Actions from any app. Developers can offer their own actions to Spotlight through App Intents.
• Quick keys. Short strings of characters jump straight to the action you want.
• Filters. Results can be narrowed to one type, such as PDFs or Mail messages.
• Browse views. Spotlight can show your clipboard history.

For apps that support it, this turns search into a launcher for work, not just a way to find files.

Search and privacy

Items an app adds with Core Spotlight are indexed on the device. Each app decides what goes in, and it can remove items again, for example when a record is deleted. A well-behaved app keeps the index in step with what you are allowed to see.

You stay in control of what appears:

• On a Mac, System Settings > Spotlight lets you choose which categories appear in results and keep chosen folders out of search.
• On iPhone and iPad, each app's page in Settings has options for showing its content in search. The exact labels vary by version.

Spotlight can also show suggestions that involve Apple's servers, such as web results. Apple explains what is sent, and how to turn suggestions off, in its Spotlight and privacy information.

What it means for business software

For work apps, system search raises practical questions as well as convenience. If you are evaluating software for your team, ask the vendor:

1. Does it add records to system search at all? Many business apps do not.
2. Which records? Customer names may be welcome in search; sensitive notes may not.
3. What happens when someone signs out or loses access? Indexed items should be removed so a shared or handed-down device does not keep showing them.
4. Does it offer actions? Creating a record or opening a list from search can save time on a Mac.
5. Can an administrator control it? Some companies prefer business data kept out of system search on managed devices.

Search is one of several Apple features that depend on how an app is built. How Handoff works between iPhone and Mac covers a related one, and native and web apps for business compares native and browser-based tools more broadly. For finding records inside an app, see working with large customer lists, and for the bigger picture of records on several screens, working in multiple windows on a Mac and keeping business data in sync across iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't an app show up in Spotlight results?

Spotlight can find an app's content when the developer has added it to the search index or described it with App Intents. Many apps have not. Also check that search results for that app are turned on in Settings or System Settings.

What are App Intents?

App Intents is an Apple framework that lets an app describe its actions and kinds of content to the system. Siri, Shortcuts and Spotlight use those descriptions to offer its actions in other places on the device.

Does Spotlight send my search to Apple?

Content that apps add with Core Spotlight is indexed on the device. Suggestions such as web results can involve Apple's servers; Apple describes what is sent and how to turn suggestions off in its privacy information.

How do I keep an app's content out of Spotlight?

On a Mac, use System Settings > Spotlight to choose which categories appear. On iPhone and iPad, open that app's page in Settings and turn off showing its content in search; the labels vary by version.