What is the shortcut to turn off voice Assistant on Android?

Voice assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa, and Cortana have become increasingly common on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. According to research, over 8 billion people worldwide are expected to use voice assistants by 2024, with the majority interacting through smartphones rather than standalone smart speakers [1]. The hands-free convenience of voice commands on mobile devices is driving adoption, allowing users to get information, set reminders, make calls, play music and more through simple voice requests.

On Android devices specifically, the default voice assistant is typically Google Assistant, which comes pre-installed on most Android smartphones and tablets. Google Assistant allows voice activation through the keywords “Hey Google” or “Ok Google” to perform various tasks. However, users may want to turn off Google Assistant or other voice assistant apps on their Android device for reasons like privacy, security, battery life, or simply because they do not want to use the feature.

Why You Might Want to Turn Off Voice Assistant

There are several reasons why you may want to disable or turn off voice assistant capabilities on your Android device:

One major reason is privacy concerns. Voice assistants like Google Assistant and Bixby listen for voice commands constantly, which means they are also recording conversations and ambient sounds. This allows them to collect large amounts of personal data. Turning them off prevents this passive listening and recording (1).

Another reason is to prevent battery drain. Having voice assistant apps running constantly in the background can consume extra battery life. Disabling them can help extend your battery, especially if you don’t use voice commands very often.

Additionally, you may want to disable voice assistants to avoid accidental activations. The assistants are designed to wake up when they hear certain hot words or phrases. If they misinterpret ambient noise as their trigger phrase, it can open the assistant unexpectedly which some find annoying.

Locate Your Voice Assistant App

The first step is to identify which voice assistant app you have on your Android device. The most common options are:

Google Assistant – This is the default voice assistant on many Android phones like Pixel and Samsung Galaxy. The Google Assistant app has a colorful ‘G’ icon.
Bixby – This is the voice assistant developed by Samsung and found on their Galaxy series phones. The Bixby app has a blue ‘B’ icon.

Alexa – Amazon’s Alexa app brings their voice assistant to Android. The app has a blue wave-like icon.

You may also have voice assistants from device manufacturers like Huawei, LG or third-party apps. Check your app drawer or home screen to locate the voice assistant app installed on your device. Voice assistant apps usually include “assistant” or “voice” in the name.

Open Your Voice Assistant App Settings

To turn off voice activation or change other settings, you’ll first need to locate and open the settings for your voice assistant app. Here’s how to find the settings menu for some popular voice assistants on Android:

For the Google Assistant, open the Assistant app and tap on your profile picture in the top right corner. Then select Settings. You can also say “Hey Google, open Assistant settings.” ¹

For Alexa, open the Alexa app and tap on the Menu icon in the top left. Select Settings. ²

For Samsung Bixby, open the Bixby app and tap on the Menu icon in the top left. Choose Settings. You can also say “Hi Bixby, open settings.”

For other assistants, look for a settings icon or menu within the app. This is where you’ll find options to disable voice activation and other key settings.

Disable Voice Activation

One of the main ways voice assistants like Google Assistant and Bixby listen for commands is through voice activation phrases like “Ok Google,” “Hey Google,” or “Hi Bixby.” To disable these activation phrases:

On Samsung devices, open the Bixby app, go to Settings > Voice wake-up, and turn off the “Wake with Hi Bixby” option (Source). This will prevent Bixby from listening for the activation phrase.

For the Google Assistant, open the Google app, go to Settings > Voice > Voice Match, and turn off “Hey Google” voice activation (Source). You can also go to Settings > Google > Account services > Search, Assistant & Voice > Voice and turn off “Hey Google” detection.

Turning off these wake phrases prevents your voice assistant from constantly listening for commands. Just note you’ll have to manually activate the assistant to use it.

Disable Access to Microphone

One of the most direct ways to turn off voice assistant functionality is to revoke microphone permissions for the voice assistant app. This prevents the app from listening and recording audio through your device’s microphone.

To revoke microphone permissions on Android:

Open the Settings app on your device.
Tap Apps or Application Manager.

Select the voice assistant app (e.g. Google Assistant, Alexa, Bixby).
Tap Permissions.
Tap Microphone.

Select Don’t Allow.

This will immediately revoke microphone access for the voice assistant app. The app will no longer be able to listen for voice commands or queries. You can repeat this process for any other apps that have microphone access enabled.

Some devices may vary in the exact steps to revoke permissions. For example, on Samsung devices you can go to Settings > Apps > Choose app > Permissions > Microphone and toggle it off. See this guide for more details on revoking microphone permissions.

Disable Accessibility Services

Many voice assistants like Google Assistant and Samsung’s Bixby use accessibility services to read information aloud on your device. You can turn off the voice assistant’s access to these services to disable it.

On Android 9 and higher, go to Settings > Accessibility. Find the accessibility service used by your voice assistant, such as TalkBack or Voice Assistant and toggle it off. This will prevent the assistant from accessing those services to read your screen aloud or respond to voice commands.

On Android 8 and lower, go to Settings > Accessibility and turn off all accessibility services. This will disable access for any assistant apps. You can also go into individual app settings and disable their access to accessibility services specifically.

According to Google’s Android Accessibility help, turning off TalkBack will disable Google Assistant voice functionality.

Disable App Permissions

Another way to disable the voice assistant is to revoke the app’s access to other permissions like contacts, location, etc. Android 11 introduced an option to automatically revoke permissions from apps that haven’t been used for a while (source).

To revoke permissions:

Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > App permissions.
Select the permission you want to revoke, like Location.
Find the voice assistant app and toggle off the permission.

Revoking key permissions prevents the voice assistant from accessing sensitive data. This limits its functionality but can be useful if you want to disable it without fully uninstalling the app.

Uninstall the App

If you want to completely remove the voice assistant app from your Android device, uninstalling it is the best option. Here are the steps to uninstall an app on Android:

1. Open the Settings app on your Android device.

2. Tap on Apps or Application Manager.

3. Tap on the app you want to uninstall.

4. Tap Uninstall. You may need to tap OK or confirm again.

The app will now be completely removed from your device. Any data associated with the app will also be deleted.¹

Alternatively, you can uninstall an app directly from the app drawer or home screen on your Android device. Long press on the app icon and select Uninstall. Confirm again to delete the app.²

Uninstalling the voice assistant app ensures it is completely removed from your device and cannot activate or access your microphone without your permission.

Use Airplane Mode

Putting your Android device into Airplane Mode is an easy way to disconnect the microphone and stop your voice assistant from listening. According to Refuge Privacy, “Putting it in Airplane Mode is all it takes to disable location tracking, microphones, and cameras.”

When Airplane Mode is enabled, it turns off all wireless connections including cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, and more. This prevents any data from being transmitted or received, including audio data from the microphone.

An article on Xiphcyber explains, “Enabling Airplane mode disconnects the mic & camera so apps can’t access them.”

You can quickly turn on Airplane Mode on most Android devices by swiping down from the top to access the notifications shade. Tap the Airplane Mode icon to toggle it on. This will immediately disconnect the microphone.

The only drawback is that you lose wireless functionality while in Airplane Mode. However, it ensures voice assistants and other apps cannot access the microphone to listen and record audio.