How to turn off Gemini on Android — and why you should | Proton
proton.me
Learn how to turn off Gemini on Android, what the Google AI can see, its privacy risks, and how to limit its reach across your device.

Google is quietly rolling out its Gemini AI tool as the default assistant on Android, even on devices where users never explicitly enabled it. In many cases, Gemini replaces Google Assistant by default, making it increasingly challenging to disable fully.

This deep integration means Gemini can still be active in the background, accessing your apps, system features, and personal info.

Here’s what Gemini can access:

Gmail 
Google Calendar 
Google Drive & Docs 
Maps, Keep, Tasks
Messages, Phone, and even WhatsApp

Even more concerning:

Your data is used to train Google’s AI.
Human reviewers may see your chats.
Data can be shared with 3rd parties.
As of July 2025, Gemini stays connected to apps even when activity tracking is turned off.

🛑 You can’t fully disable Gemini, but you can limit it:

How to limit Gemini on Android:

Turn off activity tracking
Revoke permissions
Uninstall it (if possible)

Further options, if you’re privacy-conscious:

Reduce your reliance on Google services or fully de-Google
Consider a privacy-first OS like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS

⚠️ Google is making Gemini the default assistant for all Android devices by the end of 2025.

Choose privacy over AI surveillance.

If you want tools that respect your data, ensure you use encrypted email, a private calendar, and a secure cloud, with no AI training or human review.

  • muusemuuse@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    310·
    16 hours ago

    Google has plans for killing linage and graphene too.

    Apple has its faults but they are practically Jesus Christ compared to Google.

      • muusemuuse@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        21·
        5 hours ago

        Well, one of the reasons Siri sucks so terribly is Apple refused to do the mass surveillance data scraping google was doing, so they didn’t have enormous data sets to train Siri on. Second, Apple lets you turn their AI functions on and off system-wide with a simple toggle, where as google lets to chip away at gemini but never actually turn it off.

    • Nath@aussie.zoneEnglish
      5·
      14 hours ago

      I’m not about to defend Google, but I think Apple are worse. Google are upfront about what they collect and let you download (takeout) or delete everything they have on you at any time you want.

      Apple don’t tell you what they are collecting, don’t let you opt-out of data collection and it’s a manual process to access/delete what they have on you.

      Neither company is good on their privacy fronts and to champion one over the other is silly.