Ok, nobody’s being thankless here. If this entire topic is making you uneasy like when Diego shut down ‘mom’ in the Umbrella academy, leaving us all floating in mixed emotions, hear me out. While at times, Google Assistant can be a really helpful tool to help you organize your life and navigate your gadgets, it can get a little on our nerves when it dispenses unsolicitous opinions, so it’s good to know How to turn off Google Assistant for these situations.

For me personally, the most exasperating moment is when Google Assistant wakes up without me having asked for it. It appears almost every time I unlock my phone, which I do a lot in a day. 99% of the time, I really don’t need it, and have to swipe it away before I can perform the actions I want. Perhaps I have accidentally pressed the Start button on my smartphone which activates the Google Assistant.

As soon as it is activated, it captures your voice, comprehends the instruction and comply. The worst part is when your smartphone is in your pocket and yet you somehow activate Google Assistant by accident without even being aware of it. Let’s say, you are in the middle of a serious conversation, you happen to have inadvertently activated your voice-activated companion, your device might pick up a fragment of something you have said, and suddenly answer you!

Trust me shouting out “get lost, Google”, “you suck, Google”, never works, I have tried. This is because the option to disable Assistant is hidden in layers of menus. After many annoying and embarrassing episodes, I have put together this guide to help you turn off Google Assistant!

How Do I turn off Google Assistant?

First things first, you need to fire up your Google app. You will have no trouble locating it on the home page or in your app drawer, since all Android phones will come with this pre-installed. Look for this app icon.

Once you have opened the app, tap on the “More” button in the bottom right corner, which has three horizontal dots above it.

Search for “settings” in this menu somewhere at the bottom of the list.

Once opened, select ‘Google Assistant’ in the next menu.

Select ‘Assistant’ in the Google Assistant options menu. scroll down to the bottom to see the list of all devices it is used on. Select the ‘Phone’ option in the list to control how the app will be used in your phone.

Look at the top Toggle labelled ‘Google Assistant’? tap on it to deactivate it for your whole device.

Phew, now that you have succeeded in subduing your over-helpful friend, your can rest easy knowing that your phone won’t be eaves dropping on your conversations. Now when you actually want to summon the Google Assistant, either by squeezing your phone, or pressing down on the power button, a search bar will appear to let you type in your request manually! Much less invasive!

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