How To Turn Off Gemini On Android

Tips
1

I recently noticed Gemini showing up on my Android phone, and it keeps popping into searches and other places where I’d rather just use the regular tools I’m used to. I’ve tried looking through settings and app permissions but I’m not sure what actually disables it without breaking anything important. Can someone explain the steps to fully turn off or remove Gemini on Android and what I should watch out for when doing it?

2

Same thing bugged me, so here is what worked on my Pixel. Steps are similar on Samsung and others, names might differ a bit.

  1. Turn off Gemini as default assistant

    1. Open Settings
    2. Tap Apps
    3. Tap Default apps
    4. Tap Digital assistant app
    5. Choose Google or None instead of Gemini

    This stops long press of home or corner swipe from pulling up Gemini.

  2. Turn off Gemini in the Google app

    1. Open the Google app
    2. Tap your profile picture top right
    3. Tap Settings
    4. Tap Gemini
    5. Look for an option like “Use Gemini” or “Try Gemini in Google Search” and toggle it off

    After that, searches in the Google app should go back to the old style.

  3. Remove Gemini from the home screen or search bar
    If your search bar opens Gemini:

    1. Long press the search bar widget on the home screen
    2. Tap Edit, or the little settings icon if it shows
    3. Turn off Gemini or AI features if there is a toggle
      If there is no option, delete that widget and add a new “Search” widget from the Google app, not from Gemini.

  4. Disable or restrict the Gemini app

    1. Settings
    2. Apps
    3. Find Gemini
    4. Tap it
      • Tap Notifications and turn off everything you do not want
      • Tap Permissions and remove microphone, camera, etc if you do not want it waking up in other places
      • If the Disable button is active, tap Disable to shut the app down

    On some phones Google locks Disable, so you only get “Uninstall updates”. You can do that to roll it back a bit, but Play Store might push it again.

  5. Turn off “AI features” in Gboard or keyboard
    If Gemini keeps showing above your keyboard:

    1. Open any app where the keyboard pops up
    2. Tap the gear icon on Gboard
    3. Look for options like “AI features”, “Smart input”, “Help me write”
    4. Turn those off

  6. Chrome search and omnibox
    If Gemini shows in Chrome:

    1. Open Chrome
    2. Tap the three dots
    3. Tap Settings
    4. Tap Search engine and keep it on Google, but then
    5. Check “AI features” or “Search labs” and disable anything Gemini related

On my phone, after I did 1, 2, and 4, Gemini stopped popping into search and assistant actions. It still sits there as an app, but never shows unless I open it myself.

If your carrier or OEM changed menus, you might need to look under:
Settings → Apps → Choose default apps
Settings → Google → Search, Assistant and Voice → Gemini

Last thing, expect some of these toggles to move with updates. When the Google app updates, check the Gemini section again because they like to flip “Try Gemini in Search” back on.

3

I went through the same “why is Gemini suddenly everywhere on my phone” phase, so adding a few extra angles on top of what @viajantedoceu already covered.

They nailed most of the obvious stuff, but here are some other spots Gemini likes to sneak into:

  1. Google account-wide toggles
    Gemini gets tied to your Google account, not just the device. So even if you fix one phone, it can pop up on others.

    • Open the Google app
    • Tap your profile picture
    • Tap “Manage your Google Account”
    • Go to the “Data & privacy” tab
    • Scroll for anything like “Generative AI features,” “Labs,” or “Experimental features” and turn those off
      This sometimes kills Gemini-style stuff across apps tied to that account, not just on one device.

  2. Search results page “opt out”
    When Gemini shows up at the top of search, look for tiny text like “Hide,” “Not interested,” or 3-dot menu near the Gemini box.

    • Tap that and choose options to stop showing that type of result
      It’s janky and not a true off switch, but it does reduce how often it appears. Took me a week of smacking those menus before it finally chilled out.

  3. Home screen apps & gestures from the launcher
    Some launchers wire the swipe-up or side gesture straight to Gemini, independent of default assistant.

    • Long-press on empty home screen
    • Tap “Home settings” or similar
    • Look under “Gestures” / “Swipe up for” / “Search & assistant”
    • Switch to standard search or turn the gesture off
      This is different from the Digital Assistant default in system Settings, so you kind of have to hit both.

  4. Play Store auto-updates rolling it back in
    You can “fix” everything and then a Google app update quietly flips a switch again, which is annoying as hell.
    If you’re really done with Gemini:

    • Open Play Store
    • Search “Google” and “Gemini”
    • Tap the Google app, hit the 3 dots, uncheck “Enable auto update”
    • Do the same for the Gemini app if it’s separate on your phone
      Slightly overkill, but it stopped the random “surprise, Gemini is back!” moments for me.

  5. Lock screen & power button assistant shortcut
    Some phones hook the power button double-press or lockscreen shortcuts to Gemini once it’s enabled even once.

    • Settings
    • Look for “Lock screen,” “Shortcuts,” or “Side key”
    • Change assistant shortcut to “None” or back to Google
      That was what finally stopped Gemini from showing when I accidentally mashed the power button.

I’ll slightly disagree with @viajantedoceu on the idea that disabling is enough. On my device, disabling the app alone did nothing until I also killed it in the Google app’s Gemini section and adjusted gestures. Google treats Gemini more like a service riding on top of Google Search, so you have to hunt in multiple menus.

It’s very “whack-a-mole,” but once you hit:

  • default assistant
  • Gemini section inside the Google app
  • launcher gestures / lockscreen shortcuts
  • account-level AI / labs toggles

Gemini pretty much vanishes unless you deliberately open it.