How to Disable Google Assistant on Your Android
In theory, Google Assistant is a useful part of the Android ecosystem. It will help you set reminders, make calls, and even find a song for you. But at the same time, there is one more thing that requires your attention. If you accidentally launch Google Assistant from time to time, or simply don’t feel the need for it anymore, there’s a way to turn it off on your Android smartphone and Google smart speakers (though you can’t turn off the assistant completely on the latter, since that’s the primary way you interact with the speaker ).
How to disable Google Assistant on an Android smartphone
It runs in the Google app on your Android smartphone. Tap your profile picture in the top right corner and select the Settings option. Alternatively, you can use Google Assistant itself to get here (ironic!) by saying, “OK Google, open Google Assistant settings.”
The Popular Settings section will appear at the top; Scroll down a bit to find the All Settings section, which lists all the settings options in alphabetical order. In this section, select the “General” option. Finally, tap the switch next to Google Assistant to turn off the feature.
How to disable “Hey Google” voice commands for Google Assistant on Android
You might think that Google Assistant is quite useful after all, you just don’t like how it randomly responds unless you intentionally say the commands “Hey Google” or “OK Google.”
In this case, you can turn off just the voice command feature and continue using Google Assistant from the app. To do this, go back to the Google app, tap your profile icon in the top right corner and select Settings . Then go to Google Assistant > Hey Google and Voice Match and turn off Hey Google .
How to disable Google Assistant on Google Home or Nest smart speakers
You can’t completely turn off Google Assistant on your Google Home or Nest smart speakers, but you can mute the microphone to prevent the speaker from listening to you or the “Hey Google” trigger phrase. You’ll find the microphone button on the back of your Google Home or Google Next speakers. On the Google Home Mini and Google Nest Mini, this button is located next to the power cord.
Press the button and the device’s audio will instantly mute and Google Assistant will stop working. If you want Google Assistant back, just press the microphone button again.