How-To

How to Disable Google Assistant

By Brian Burgess

Published May 21, 2023

If you’re worried about your privacy (or need a bit of quiet), you may want to consider disabling the Google Assistant. This guide explains how.

Google Assistant is a helpful way to get information and execute tasks on a wide variety of devices. It understands context and follow-up questions well, but there are privacy concerns to consider—it’s always listening, after all.

If that concerns you (or you just want to stop interruptions for a while), you might want to disable Google Assistant. This’ll stop it from always listening out for your commands and stop it from being accidentally triggered.

Whatever your reasons are for disabling Google Assistant, we’ll show you how to do it on your phone, smart speaker, or a display device like Google Nest below.

How to Disable Google Assistant on Android

Disabling Google Assistant on your Android phone is straightforward, but there are a few menus in the Google app to work through.

To disable Google Assistant on Android:

1. Launch the Google app on your phone.
2. Tap your profile icon in the top right corner.
3. Select Settings from the menu that appears.
4. Tap Google Assistant.
5. Swipe down and select General from the menu.
6. Toggle the Google Assistant switch to the off position.
7. When the verification message appears, tap the Turn Off button.

How to Disable Google Assistant on Speakers and Other Devices

If you have a Google Assistant-powered speaker or smart display, you can disable or “mute” Google Assistant. Doing so is helpful if you don’t need it or want to stop it from listening.

To disable your Google assistant, turn off the hardware switch on the device itself. You should find it on the bottom or side of the device. When you turn it off, it will display an orange background.

How to Disable Hey or OK Google Commands on Android

In addition to turning off Google Assistant, you can turn off the “Hey Google” or “OK Google” voice trigger. Turning it off will stop audible responses from coming from your device. You can do this while you’re in a theater or want a quiet evening, for instance.

To disable Hey Google on Android:

1. Launch the Google app on your phone or tablet.
2. Select your profile icon in the top corner of the app.
3. Tap Settings when the menu appears.
4. Select Google Assistant from the menu.
5. Tap Hey Google & Voice Match from the list of items.
6. Under the This Device tab, toggle the Hey Google switch to the off position.

Once Google Assistant is off, it will no longer respond to voice commands such as “OK Google.” Having it off can help prevent it from triggering accidentally. To reenable it, go back into the same settings shown above and toggle on the Hey Google switch.

How to Stop Google Assistant from Replying

Want a quiet response? You can configure Google Assistant to only reply with on-screen, muted responses to your queries.

To keep Google Assistant quiet:

1. Launch the Google app on your phone or tablet.
2. Tap your profile icon in the top corner.
3. Select Settings from the menu.
4. Tap Google Assistant from the menu.
5. Swipe down to the All Settings section and select Assistant voice & sounds from the list.
6. Under the Speech Output section, tap your phone or device.
7. Tap None (unless hands-free).

Google Assistant will display responses to your queries on the screen and not out loud. However, it will still give you audio with a connected hands-free device.

Configuring the Google Assistant

Whether you are tired of Google Assistant being triggered accidentally or are concerned about privacy, you can disable it or its components using the above steps. Unfortunately, other than flipping a hardware switch on your speaker, disabling it on your phone requires many menus.

If you are new to the technology, check out our tips on getting started with Google Assistant. Or find out about linking Google Assistant with Disney Plus for a more immersive experience.

If you’re having problems with a language barrier, you can use Google Assistant in interpreter mode. And if you need to name that tune, use Google Assistant to identify songs playing nearby.