How to disable OK Google and Google Assistant on Android devices

[Karlston]

How to disable OK Google and Google Assistant on Android devices

Many Android devices come with Google applications and services, even if the device is not a device created by Google itself but by another company. Google Assistant is available as a standalone application as well which Android users may install to integrate it on their device.

 

Two of the features that you may find on your Android device are OK Google and Google Assistant. OK Google is a tool that is activated by voice to run searches or certain actions. Google Assistant ties into that but can also be controlled via text.

 

If OK Google or Google Assistant are active on your Android device but you are not using these tools, you may want to consider disabling those.

 

You may remember that I bought a Google Pixel 3A device when it first came out to replace my trusted by aging Nokia 5.1 device. The Google device is chock-full when it comes to Google services and tools; OK Google and Google Assistant are a part of the device but I never use these services.

 

I don't have any use cases for these, don't want to talk to my phone, and don't like the privacy implications either.

 

One of the first things that I did was to go through the smartphone to disable any service or tool that I don't use. OK Google and Google Assistant were two of the features that I disabled. Here is how I did it.

 

Note: The way to disable Google Assistant and OK Google may be different depending on the Android version of the device. If you notice that you have to follow different steps to disable the features, let me know in the comments. If you figured it out, please share your experience in the comments so that others may benefit from it as well.

Disable OK Google

 

Here is how you disable OK Google on your device:

1. Open the Google application on the Android device.
2. Click on the "More" link when it opens.
3. Now navigate to Settings > Voice > Voice Match
4. Disable "Access with Voice Match", "Unlock with Voice Match", and "While Driving".

Disable Google Assistant

 

Google Assistant is disabled in the Google settings on the device, not in the Google application.

1. Open the Settings on the device.
2. Select Google and use it to navigate to Search, Assistant & Voice > Google Assistant.
3. In the Google Assistant settings, switch to the Assistant tab.
4. Scroll down until you find the list of Assistant devices.
5. Select your device.
6. Turn off "Google Assistant" on the screen that opens.

Closing Words

Disabling does not mean that these two services are removed entirely from the device. You still get the voice icon in the search field but a tap on the icon displays a "turn on" prompt indicating that Google Assistant is turned off.

 

 

 

Source: How to disable OK Google and Google Assistant on Android devices (gHacks - Martin Brinkmann)