How to Turn Off Google Assistant in Various Smart Devices
Google Assistant is a miraculous service from Google. It can help you schedule meetings and book flight tickets through voice commands. By doing so, it also listens to your everyday conversations.
Some individuals consider this not cool for privacy and want to turn off Google Assistant. If you’re also in that group, here are the best methods to try.
Turn Off Google Assistant on Smart Speakers
Smart speakers of Google, like Nest Mini, Nest Audio, Nest Hub, etc., come with powerful microphones that capture voice from anywhere in the room. Thus, even if you don’t want the Google Assistant to work, if you utter some keyphrases like Google, YouTube, etc., these devices can get activated provided that they’re plugged in.
Since Google made these devices as Google Assistant-based hardware, you can’t turn off Google Assistant services on your Google smart speakers. You can only deactivate their microphones so the devices can’t hear you. You’ll find the microphone turn off/on switch on the back or at the bottom of the device.
Turn Off Google Assistant on Android Phones
To deactivate Google Assistant on Android smartphones:
- Open the Google app and then tap on your profile picture.
- You’ll see Settings (gear icon), tap on it.
- Now, select the Google Assistant option from the Settings menu.
- Scroll down until you find the General option. Tap on General.
- You’ll see a radio button beside the Google Assistant option.
- Turn it to the left to deactivate the service.
- A warning message will appear. Press Turn Off again to save the changes.
You can also try these alternative steps:
- Open the Settings application of the smartphone.
- Tap on Apps and notifications.
- Scroll down to find Advanced and tap on that.
- Inside this menu, you’ll find the Default apps button. Tap on Default apps.
- Select Assist and voice input.
- Tap once on the Google app icon.
- Select the None option and close the Settings app.
You can try any of the methods to stop Google Assistant on your Android mobile.
Turn Off Google Assistant on Chromebooks
It could be truly annoying if the Google Chromebook activates Google Assistant automatically while speaking in Google Meet, attending business calls on Skype, or watching a movie. You can avoid this nuisance by trying any of the following methods:
- Open the Search app of the device and type Settings.
- Select the gear wheel icon that shows up.
- You can also find the Settings app by clicking on the clock of the device.
- Look for Search and Assistant inside the Settings app.
- Access Search and Assistant, and under the Hey Google voice activation menu, choose Off.
The “Hey Google” keyphrase won’t turn on Google Assistant. But, the virtual voice assistant could still turn itself on. So, here’s how you can permanently deactivate the service:
- Again go to the Settings app.
- You’ll see Search and Assistant on the left-side navigation panel. Click on it.
- You’ll see the On button under the Google Assistant phrase.
- Slide the radio button to the left to fully deactivate the assistant feature.
Conclusion
You can turn off Google Assistant to stop Google from listening to private conversations in-home or office. But, you’re leaking tons of personal data online by using Internet Protocol or IP address assigned by the service provider.
Instead, you need to use one of the best VPN services to protect your data from agencies and businesses that collect consumer data for advertising.
