The Google Assistant is always there and always listens to you. Even when you don’t want it. It can be very convenient to say “Ok Google,†and the digital assistant will answer you right away. But what if you want to disable this helper?
Whether it’s for privacy reasons or any other reason, turning OK Google on or off on your phone isn’t easy. In fact, it doesn’t seem easy to change many of the Google Assistant settings.
For this reason, we’re going to offer this guide on how to turn OK Google on or off whenever you want, as well as other useful settings you might want to change.
How to turn off OK Google
Unfortunately, turning off the “Ok Google†feature on your Android device is not easy. First, it is difficult to find the setting.
Whether this problem is intentionally embedded in the application is debatable, but at least it can be turned off.
- Open the Google Assistant app.
- Tap the Browse icon near the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Tap your profile icon in the upper right corner of the screen and tap Settings.
- In the Settings window, tap Assistant from the menu.
- Scroll down the Assistant settings menu and click Phone under Assistant Devices.
- You will see a toggle switch on the Assistant settings screen. can be turned off next to “Hey Google†in the “Voice Matching†section.
This setting is misleading because it also enables or disables the Assistant’s response to the words “Ok Google” and “Ok Google”.
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However, disabling this toggle will actually disable OK Google.
If you ever want to turn OK Google back on, just repeat the process above, but turn on the toggle switch to the right of Hey Google.
Configure other important Google Assistant settings
When you start digging through the Google Assistant settings, you will see that there are many useful settings hidden there.
Below are some of the most important Google Assistant settings you need to know to use Google Assistant better.
Add your seats
If you want the Google Assistant to tell you to “go home†instead of listing your entire address, you can do so by adding “home†to your list of places.
To do this, enter the Google Assistant settings in the same way as in the above steps, but this time select the “You” menu at the top of the screen.
Select “Your Seats” from the menu.
On the Your Places screen, select Add New Place. This will open a new screen where you can search for a location by address or name. Enter the name of the place you can remember and which is easy to pronounce.
When you’re done, just click OK.
Now you can tell Google Assistant to show directions to that location with a simple voice command.
Set the language and voice of the Assistant
If your native language is different from English, you can change the language that the Assistant understands and speaks.
This can be done in the Settings menu in the Assistant menu. Select “Languages” at the top of the menu. On the next menu, select Add language.
There are nearly 50 languages ??to choose from. Even if you really know English, sometimes using the Assistant in your own language can improve functionality as it understands your commands better. It will also make it easier for you to understand his answers.
You can also change the type of voice assistant that will talk to you. From the main Assistant settings screen, select Assistant Voice.
Scroll the circles from left to right and tap each one to listen to a sample voice. You will notice different accents and genders to choose from. Once you find the one you like, just leave it selected and the Assistant will use that voice in the future.
Settings for food and weather and enable continued conversation
Another way to help the Assistant make better recommendations for you when you’re looking for something is to tell them your personal preferences.
To do this, enter the Google Assistant settings in the same way as in the above steps, but this time select the “You” menu at the top of the screen.
Select Food Preferences from the menu. Here you can choose what you like: gluten free, vegan or vegetarian. This will help when you ask for a prescription on your phone or Google Home.
Back in the You menu, select Weather. Here you can choose the units of measure you like when you ask the current or forecast weather. Options: Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Back in the Assistant menu, select Continue conversation.
When you turn on Continue Conversation (using the switch), the Assistant doesn’t need to say “Ok Google†or “Ok Google†to ask an additional question.
For example, if you ask “Ok Google, what’s the weather in Kingsport, Tennessee?†After the Assistant answers you, you can simply say “go to Kingsport, Tennessee†without repeating “OK Google†again.
This is a small additional convenience, but quite useful.
Bypass, Face Match and Home Control
You can set the default Assistant to travel modes when you ask for directions by specifying a mode of travel.
You will find it in the Assistant menu in the “Movement” section. You can tell the Assistant how you usually travel to work and how you usually travel to other places.
Face Match is another item on the Assistant menu.
After you set up Face Match, Google Assistant uses the forward-facing camera to recognize your face. As soon as he recognizes you, he will definitely respond to all your settings.
Home control is also available in the Assistant menu.
In this menu, you can integrate any of your Smart Home devices so that you can use the Assistant to control them.
Here are some examples:
- Adobe Smart Home
- ADT Pulse SmartHome
- Arlo
- Dish Network
- HomeLink
- Honeywell Home
- Mydlink Home
- Nest
- Philips Hue
And much more – there are hundreds of smart home device manufacturers supported by Google Assistant. Finally, don’t forget to check the Notifications section, where you can set up Google Assistant to send you automatic notifications with useful information like flight updates, billing reminders, package delivery statuses, and more.
Use Google Assistant for everything
Google Assistant is one of the most useful personal digital assistants you can ever need. This is especially true when you know how to customize preferences and integrate them with all the services and devices you already use in your life.
However, there are times when you may need a little peace and privacy. In this case, it’s enough to just turn OK Google on and off whenever you want.
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