Having launched in 2016, Google Assistant has slowly become one of the most popular personal voice assistants on smartphones across the world. It is available on Android and iOS natively, but you can also use it on Mac, Windows, and Linux. However, many privacy-conscious users dislike the idea of an always-on microphone that can listen to their conversations. So today, we will show you how to disable or turn off Google Assistant on Android smartphones and Chromebooks.
Disable Google Assistant on Android and Chrome OS
Here, we will show you how to disable, deactivate, or turn off Google Assistant on your Android device and Chromebook. While the process is relatively straightforward for smartphones, it is a little more complicated on Chromebooks. Also, you cannot fully disable the Assistant on your Chrome OS devices. Nonetheless, you can still turn off the ‘OK Google’ trigger word on Chrome OS. So without further delay, let’s check out how you can turn off Google Assistant on Android phones and Chromebooks.
Android Devices
Disabling Google Assistant is simple on Android, but the process keeps changing every few months. So check out the latest method (as of March 2021) to turn off Google Assistant on Android devices:
- To turn off Google Assistant on Android, open the Google app on your phone and tap on the ‘More’ button on the bottom right. From the next page, jump into the ‘Settings’ menu.
- Next, tap on Google Assistant. Then scroll down a little and select General.
- On the next page, you can deactivate the Assistant. To do that, turn off the toggle next to Google Assistant and confirm your selection by tapping on ‘Turn off’ when asked.
Chromebooks
As mentioned earlier, you cannot fully disable Google Assistant on Chromebooks and can only switch off the trigger word detection. Here’s how you can do that:
- On your Chromebook, click on the time at the bottom-right corner and click on the Settings icon.
- On the left, go to Search and Assistant. Then tap on Google Assistant.
- Finally, toggle off Google Assistant to disable it on your Chromebook.
Easily Turn Off Google Assistant on Android Devices and Chromebooks
Google Assistant can be of great help on many occasions, but there are times when you might want to switch it off to limit Google’s data collection. So go ahead and disable the Assistant on all your devices to regain control over your privacy. In the meantime, also check out some of the other ways you can enhance your online privacy, including opening your Chrome and Firefox browsers in private mode by default, how to disable cookies on your Android browser, and how to disable location tracking on your Windows 10 PC. We hope this quick guide helps you further bolster your Android device or Chromebook’s privacy and security.
