To turn off Gemini on an Android phone, you disconnect it from the buttons, the voice command and the lock screen, so that Google’s AI assistant no longer opens when you do not want it to. Below are six ways to turn off Gemini. They also work on a Samsung Galaxy, which has a separate setting for the side button.
On Android, Gemini is Google’s digital assistant. In August 2026, Google emailed users that Google Assistant would disappear from phones and tablets from 4 September 2026.
Switching back to Google Assistant, the route many guides still describe, is no longer possible once that change reaches a device. Removing Gemini completely is not possible either, because Gemini works as an assistant through the Google app.
The six settings below work independently of each other. If you only want to stop opening Gemini by accident, the power button or the side button setting is enough. These phone settings do not affect the web version at gemini.google.com or Gemini in Google Workspace, so using Gemini for work on your computer remains possible after you turn off the assistant on your phone.
These are the six settings you can use to turn off or remove Gemini.
- Set the digital assistant app to None. Removes Gemini as the default digital assistant, so a button set to Digital assistant no longer opens anything.
- Disconnect the power button from Gemini. Gives a long press of the power button a different action, so Gemini no longer opens by accident.
- Change the side button on a Samsung Galaxy. Puts the power off menu back under the side button, which starts Gemini by default on Galaxy devices when you press and hold it.
- Turn off Hey Google. Stops Gemini from starting hands-free with your voice, with the option of deleting the Voice Match model as well.
- Block Gemini on the lock screen. Makes sure Gemini only opens after you unlock the phone, and no longer on the lock screen.
- Uninstall the Gemini app. Removes the app from the phone, but leaves the assistant function in the Google app and the default setting untouched.
1. Set the digital assistant app to None
Setting the digital assistant app to None turns off Gemini as the phone’s default digital assistant. A button set to Digital assistant then no longer opens any assistant.
Google’s Gemini help page gives the path Settings > Apps > Default apps > Digital assistant app > Default digital assistant app, where you choose None.
According to Google, the setting has a different name on some devices. On a Samsung Galaxy, the side button also has its own setting (step 3).
2. Disconnect the power button from Gemini
Disconnecting the power button from Gemini assigns a long press an action other than the digital assistant. This setting is enough if you mainly open Gemini by accident.
Google gives the path Settings > System > Gestures > Press and hold power button. There you choose an action other than Digital assistant.
If you cannot find the menu, search Settings for power, side button or gesture. Google says the steps differ by manufacturer.
3. Change the side button on a Samsung Galaxy
Changing the side button on a Samsung Galaxy is the Samsung version of the previous step. According to Samsung Support, pressing and holding the side button starts Gemini by default, or Google Assistant in regions where Gemini is not available.
Samsung gives the path Settings > Advanced features > Side button > Press and hold. There you set the button back to the power off menu or choose another digital assistant app. With the power off menu, the side button works as a power button again.
If an assistant app or Bixby is set under press and hold, the side button does not open the power off menu, according to Samsung. You then turn the phone off via the quick panel or by pressing the side button and volume down together. Samsung says features vary by model and region, and menus by model and software version.
4. Turn off Hey Google
Turning off Hey Google stops the wake word from starting Gemini. Gemini then only opens via a button or the app.
In the Gemini app, go to Menu > your profile picture > Settings > Talk to Gemini hands-free and turn off Hey Google.
If you also want to delete your voice profile, open Menu > profile picture > Manage your Google Account > Data & privacy > Voice Match in the Gemini app and choose to delete the Voice Match model. According to Google, you then need to set up Voice Match again before Hey Google works again.
5. Block Gemini on the lock screen
Blocking Gemini on the lock screen means the assistant does not work while the phone is locked. Gemini then only opens after you unlock it.
Google gives the path Gemini app > Menu > profile picture > Settings > Gemini on lock screen. There you turn off using Gemini without unlocking.
6. Uninstall the Gemini app
Uninstalling the Gemini app removes it from the phone, via the Play Store: profile icon > Manage apps & device > Manage, then select Gemini and choose Uninstall.
According to Google, Gemini remains the default digital assistant even after you have uninstalled the app. If you also want to get rid of Gemini as an assistant, combine this step with step 1.
According to Google, Android does not let you uninstall certain preinstalled system apps. If the Uninstall button is missing for Gemini, the app is one of those system apps on that device. On some phones, Google says, you can disable such an app instead, after which it disappears from the list of apps.
What is Gemini on an Android phone?
Gemini on an Android phone is Google’s AI assistant that opens via the power button, the side button, Hey Google or the Gemini app. The assistant function runs in the Google app. According to Google, Gemini only works as the primary assistant when the Google app is the default digital assistant app.
The assistant on your phone is one way into Google Gemini, alongside the web version and the features in Gmail and Docs. The phone settings above only close off that one way in.
Can you still switch back to Google Assistant?
No, you can no longer switch back to Google Assistant on Android phones once Google has removed access on that device. According to the email Google sent to users in August 2026, this starts on 4 September 2026 and the rollout takes a few weeks.
Google wrote in that email that after this you can no longer use or restore Google Assistant on your phone, tablet or connected devices. On 16 October 2026, Google’s Gemini help page still listed the option to switch to Google Assistant. If that option still appears in the menu on a device, the change has not yet reached it.
According to the Gemini help page, smart speakers, smart displays, TVs and cars still work with Google Assistant.
Why can you not turn off Gemini completely?
You cannot remove Gemini completely, because the assistant function sits in the Google app and not just in the separate Gemini app. If you uninstall the Gemini app, you remove that entry point, but the Google app still offers Gemini as an assistant as long as it is the default digital assistant app.
Together, the six settings make sure Gemini no longer opens on your phone. Gemini features in other Google services, such as Gmail, fall outside this and have their own switch.
What happens to your Gemini conversations after you turn it off?
After you turn it off, your Gemini conversations stay saved in your Gemini Apps Activity. None of the six settings deletes earlier conversations.
You stop saving them at gemini.google.com via Settings & help > Activity, where you click On at the top and choose Turn off or Turn off and delete activity. On the same screen, you can delete earlier conversations by day, by period or all at once.
According to Google, even with activity turned off, new conversations are kept in your account for up to 72 hours, so that the service can work and feedback can be processed. Those conversations do not appear in your activity.
Does your Gemini subscription stop if you turn off Gemini?
No, turning off Gemini does not stop your subscription, because the subscription belongs to your Google account and not to the assistant on your phone. You cancel separately via Google One subscription management. What you lose when you cancel differs between the Gemini plans, because Google AI Plus, Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra each include a different package.
How do you turn off Gemini in Gmail?
To turn off Gemini in Gmail, switch off smart features in Google Workspace in the Gmail settings on your computer. According to Google, Gemini in Gmail and Docs falls under those smart features.
In Gmail on your computer, click the gear icon > See all settings > General tab, and under Google Workspace smart features click Manage Workspace smart feature settings. There you untick Smart features in Google Workspace and click Save.
According to Google, these smart features are off by default for users in the European Economic Area. If you live in the EEA and have never turned them on, you do not need to do anything in Gmail. According to Google, some changes made on the computer do not carry through to the Gmail mobile app; Google then recommends updating the app.
How do you turn off Gemini for another account?
To turn off Gemini for another account, you use account-level management instead of the phone’s settings. For work accounts, the administrator does this; for children, the parent.
How does an administrator turn off Gemini for work accounts?
To turn off Gemini for work accounts, a Workspace administrator uses the Google Admin console, in the generative AI menu under the Gemini app. There the administrator turns the service status off for everyone, or for each organisational unit or configuration group.
According to Google, a change takes up to 24 hours. The console has no separate switch for the Gemini mobile app; an administrator blocks that through device management.
How do you turn off Gemini for a child?
To turn off Gemini for a child, you use Family Link. According to Google, parents can turn off access to Gemini Apps there for children under 13, or under the applicable age in their country. Hey Google and Voice Match with Gemini are not available for supervised accounts.
How do you agree rules for AI assistants on work phones?
To agree rules for AI assistants on work phones, you set out for each assistant whether it may be switched on and which data may go into it. Turning off Gemini or uninstalling the Gemini app sorts out one phone; a team also needs a shared rule.
Now that Google Assistant is disappearing from phones, Gemini is Google’s only assistant on an Android work phone. Without a working agreement, a work phone with Gemini under the power button is an unapproved AI tool.
Shadow AI arises as soon as an employee dictates client names or file details to Gemini, even if nobody has installed a new app.
A working agreement therefore names the default digital assistant app of the work phone, the setting of the power button and whether the administrator blocks Gemini through device management.
Employees who take the AI Literacy Course learn which data does and does not belong in an AI tool, and finish with a certificate that documents the team’s AI literacy.
