How to Exclude Messages from Spotlight Search on the iPad

If you have started to use the Spotlight Search feature on your iPad 2, then you know how helpful it can be.

This application allows you to search all of the content on your device for information, even if you do not know exactly where it is stored.

And if you have configured your iPad and iPhone with the same Apple ID, then you can receive iMessages on your iPad as well.

But your messages may contain information that you either do not want to show up in a search, or information that is not relevant to your search.

Fortunately, you can adjust the Spotlight Search settings to exclude a number of different areas, including your messages. So continue reading below to learn how to exclude text messages from the iPad Spotlight Search.

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If you are looking to replace an older iPad, or if you are thinking about giving one as a gift, check out the iPad Mini. It is less expensive and more portable, plus it is getting some excellent reviewsHow to Exclude Messages from Spotlight Search on the iPad.

Change Spotlight Search Settings on the iPad

The Spotlight Search is the option that shows up on your screen when you swipe to the right from your Home screen. If you have a lot of information on your device it can be extremely helpful. But frequent text message users are likely to have a lot of text that becomes searchable if text messages are included in Spotlight Search, which can distract from the search results that you want. So follow the steps below to stop including your messages in your iPad Spotlight Search results.

Step 1: Tap the Settings icon.

Open the iPad Settings menu
Open the iPad Settings menu

Step 2: Select the General option at the left side of the screen.

Select the General option
Select the General option

Step 3: Touch the Spotlight Search button at the center of the screen.

Open the Spotlight Search menu
Open the Spotlight Search menu

Step 4: Tap the Messages option at the bottom of the screen to remove the check mark and exclude your text messages from the Spotlight Search results.

Remove Messages from Spotlight Search
Remove Messages from Spotlight Search

Did you know that you can delete individual text messages on your iPhone? This is very helpful if you want to remove some information in a particular text message, but you do not want to delete the entire message conversation.

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