Protect your privacy from Google Assistant – 5 settings to disable

In recent months, Google Assistant has grown a lot and is one of the most innovative online voice assistants available today. These days, it is also built into all Android smartphones, so it is very popular.

Voice assistants are often not ideal or not ideal for all, it would be best to disable certain features in some cases to provide a better user experience and protection.

By disabling some Google Assistant settings, not only for better protection for our privacy but also we will be able to make the use of the big G-assistant more comfortably, compared to the basic configuration.

These changes are very simple. In short, the use of Google Assistant can (and should) be customized according to our needs to derive real benefit from it without giving Google complete access to our data.

To protect your privacy when using Google Assistant, you need to follow these five tips:

Audio Recordings

The new Google privacy settings updates do not automatically record what we are asking the Assistant to do. In the past, these recordings were sent to research teams composed of actual people who listened to our words to see whether the algorithm had reacted effectively. 

If we want to manually disable (or enable) these recordings, we need to open Google Assistant by pressing the home button for a long time (or you can also install the Google Home app, but it’s easier to disable it via Google Assistant). 

Open Google Assistant, tap on the profile picture at the top right of your computer to go to the settings. Then go to the “You” tab and “Your data in the assistant.“

Scrolling down, you will find “Audio recordings.”

From there, you will be able to see what Google Assistant has recorded, delete the audio clips, and choose whether to turn off the recordings entirely or pause it, etc.

Continued Conversation

After the Assistant replies, the phone’s microphone is reactivated while Continued Conversation is active, to hear any other questions. We would not have to say the activation expression “Hey Google” again this way.

To disable this Google Assistant feature, after opening the Google Assistant settings, go to the ‘Assistant’ tab. Then tap on “Continued Conversation,” and you can disable or activate it there.

Assistant Sensitivity

In certain smart devices, such as speakers, the Google Assistant often activates for no reason, or it often takes too long to activate. This is due to an incorrect configuration of the activation phrase sensitivity.

You can adjust this sensitivity by going to ‘Assistant settings > Assistant tab’ and then selecting the computer that the Assistant is active on (if you have more than one linked to the same Google account).

Then tap the Settings button, and you can find and change “Hey Google Sensitivity.” This function may be restricted or absent depending on the language you are using the Assistant. For smartphones, this option is not open. It is primarily for other devices that are smart.

Video Camera

If we use a smart display with a camera, then this hardware part can be accessed by Google Assistant to, for example, start a video call.

Even if we do not call anyone, some smart displays hold the camera running, and this might become a privacy problem. The management of this part is therefore important, but unfortunately, it differs from model to smart display model.

Therefore, after the purchase, you can automatically search for a way to set the camera so that it does not work until it is really necessary.

Activity Management

Via the Google Home app, you will know exactly what Google tracks, just open it and tap the profile picture first and then the menu.

You’ll find “Google Activity Controls” here and pick the “Manage Activity” option after opening it, and you’ll see an interface displaying all the things you’ve done online: websites, games, etc.

So, yeah, Google knows what you do, but by trying the options listed above, you can cover those things. So next time, in order to protect your privacy, better disable these Google Assistant settings.