Articles/Finding

Find your saves from Spotlight

Updated 13 October 2026. 2 minute read.

Spotlight is the search you reach by swiping down on the Home Screen, or with Command Space on a Mac. Most people use it to open apps. It can also search what is inside apps, as long as the app tells the system what it holds.

Stashy does. Your saves appear in Spotlight, so you can find one without opening the app first.

Using it

On iPhone and iPad

1. Swipe down on the Home Screen.
2. Type a word from the title of what you are looking for, or something it was about.
3. Tap the result. Stashy opens straight to that item.

On Mac

1. Press Command Space.
2. Type, and choose the result.

Spotlight shows results from many places at once: apps, contacts, messages, files and the web. Your saves are listed among them under Stashy.

Why it is useful

• One search box for everything. You do not have to decide first which app the thing is in.
• It is always one gesture away. From any screen, in any app.
• It finds things by subject. Stashy hands Spotlight more than a title, so a search for what a page was about can find it too.

Where the index lives

Spotlight's index is kept on your device. When Stashy adds your saves to it, nothing is uploaded. It is the same mechanism Notes and Mail use to make their content searchable.

Switching it off

If you would rather your saves did not appear in system search, for example on a device you sometimes hand to someone else, you can turn this off per app in the system's Search settings. Look for Stashy in the list and switch off showing its content in search. Search inside Stashy keeps working either way.

When results look out of date

Spotlight's index is maintained by the system, and now and then it falls behind, most often after restoring a device from a backup or setting up a new one. It normally catches up by itself once the device has been charging and idle for a while. Your library is not affected in the meantime, and search inside Stashy does not depend on it.

Spotlight or the app's own search?

• Spotlight when you are somewhere else and want to jump straight to one item.
• Stashy's search when you want to browse the matches, narrow by type or category, or search across languages.
• Ask Your Library when you want an answer and not a list. See ask your library a question.

Shortcuts, too

If you build automations, Stashy also offers actions in the Shortcuts app, including finding items and opening one. A shortcut on your Home Screen that opens this week's reading list is two actions long.