The feature helps users search contacts, mail metadata, calendars, media and other content. Compared to Spotlight on macOS, the iOS search ability is limited. The Spotlight screen is opened with a finger-flick to the right from the primary home screen, or, as of iOS 7, by pulling down on any of the home screens. The feature was announced in March 2009 and released with iOS 3.0 in June 2009. The release of iOS 4.0 included the ability to search text messages. In iOS 6, the folder that an application is inside of is now shown (if applicable). Since the Introduction of iOS 7, Spotlight no longer has its own dedicated page, but is accessible by pulling down on the middle of any Homescreen. On September 17, 2014, Spotlight Search was updated with iOS 8 to include more intuitive web results via Bing and Wikipedia, as well as quicker access to other content. With iOS 9, Spotlight Search has been updated to include results of content in apps. Privacy concerns Since the release of Yosemite, Spotlight sends all entered queries and location information to Apple by default. The data is accompanied by a unique identifying code, which Apple claims to rotate every 15 minutes to a new identifier. In response to privacy concerns, Apple has stated that they do not use the data to create profiles of their users, and that query and location information is only shared with their partner, Bing, under a strict contract which prohibits the information from being used for advertising purposes. In 2017, Bing was replaced by Google as the search engine for Spotlight. Additionally, Apple has stated that while Spotlight seeks to obscure exact locations, the information is typically more precise in densely populated areas and less so in sparse ones. Spotlight data sharing may be disabled from Spotlight System Preferences by deselecting the Spotlight Suggestions checkbox. When this is done, data is not shared with Apple. See also Desktop search List of desktop search engines Search As You Type functionality References External links Apple's File Metadata Query Expression Syntax Desktop search engines MacOS user interface IOS software 2005 software