Google Assistant is a useful part of the Android ecosystem, in theory. It helps you set reminders, make calls, and even identify a song for you. But at the same time, it’s one more thing vying for your attention. If you end up accidentally triggering Google Assistant now and then, or you just don’t feel the use for it anymore, there’s a way to disable it on your Android smartphone, and on Google’s smart speakers (though you can’t fully disable the assistant on the latter, as it’s the primary way of interacting with the speaker).
How to turn off Google Assistant on an Android smartphone
It starts in the Google app on your Android smartphone. Tap your Profile Picture from the top-right corner and choose the Settings option. Alternatively, you can use Google Assistant itself to get here (ironic!) by saying, “OK Google, open Google Assistant settings.”
A Popular Settings section will show up at the top; scroll a bit lower, to find the All Settings section, which lists all settings options alphabetically. In this section, choose the General option. Finally, tap the toggle next to Google Assistant to disable this feature.
How to disable "Hey Google" voice commands for Google Assistant on Android
Maybe you think that Google Assistant is quite useful after all, you just don’t like that it randomly triggers itself when you haven’t intentionally uttered the “Hey Google” or “OK Google” commands.
In that case, you can disable only the voice commands functionality, and continue using Google Assistant from the app. To do this, again go to the Google app, tap your Profile icon from the top-right corner, and choose Settings. Then, go to Google Assistant > Hey Google & Voice Match and disable the Hey Google feature.
How to turn off Google Assistant on Google Home or Nest smart speakers
You can’t altogether turn off Google Assistant on Google Home or Nest smart speakers, but you can disable the microphone, so that the speaker is not listening to you, or for the "Hey Google" trigger phrase. You will find a Microphone button at the back of the Google Home or Google Next speakers. On the Google Home Mini and Google Nest Mini, this button is found near the power cord.
Push the button and the device will be muted instantly, and the Google Assistant will stop functioning. When you want Google Assistant back, simply press the Microphone button again.