How to turn off Gemini on Android, Gmail, Docs and Chrome

There is no single switch that turns off Gemini everywhere. Google puts it in four separate places, and each has its own setting: your Android phone, Gmail and the other Workspace apps, Chrome, and the Gemini app's saved activity. Below are Google's own steps for each one, with the labels it uses today.

How to turn off Gemini on an Android phone

On many Android phones, Gemini has replaced Google Assistant as the assistant that answers when you hold the power button or say "Hey Google." Google's page on managing or deleting the Gemini app gives you several levels of off. Pick the one you need.

Stop it opening from the power button. Steps vary by phone, but Google's version is:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap System, then Gestures, then Press & hold power button.
3. Select a different action.

If you cannot find it, search Settings for "power," "side button" or "gesture."

Stop "Hey Google" from opening it:

1. Open the Gemini app.
2. Tap Menu, then your profile picture or initial, then Settings.
3. Tap Talk to Gemini hands-free and turn off "Hey Google."

Stop it working on the lock screen:

1. In the Gemini app, go to Settings, then Gemini on lock screen.
2. Turn off Use Gemini without unlocking.

Remove it as your assistant entirely. This is the closest thing to a full off switch on the phone:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Apps, then Default apps, then Digital assistant app.
3. Tap Default digital assistant app.
4. Select a different assistant app, or None.

Google notes that "Google" shows as selected here whether you use Google Assistant or Gemini.

Delete the app. You can uninstall the Gemini app like any other app, but Google warns that deleting it "doesn't automatically remove Gemini as your device's default digital assistant." Change the default assistant first, then delete.

One more thing worth knowing: when Gemini becomes your phone's assistant, it also takes over on paired watches, headphones and earbuds. Smart speakers, Smart Displays, TVs and cars keep Google Assistant.

How to turn off Gemini in Gmail, Docs and Google Workspace

Gemini inside Gmail, Docs, Drive and the other Workspace apps is controlled by a setting called Smart features in Google Workspace. Google's Android help describes that setting as including "Gemini in Workspace apps like Gmail, Docs, and more." Its smart features page says turning it off removes the ability to "Ask Gemini to summarize content, create drafts, and find key information, along with other Google Workspace with Gemini features."

On a computer:

1. Open Gmail and click Settings, then See all settings.
2. On the General tab, scroll to "Google Workspace smart features."
3. Click Manage Workspace smart feature settings.
4. Turn off Smart features in Google Workspace. If you also want your Workspace data kept out of the Gemini app's Personal Intelligence, turn off Smart features in other Google products.
5. Click Save.

In the Gmail app on Android:

1. Tap Menu, then Settings, and pick your account.
2. Under General, tap Google Workspace smart features.
3. Uncheck "Smart features in Google Workspace" and, if you want, "Smart features in other Google products."

Google says changes apply across every device where you are signed in, though some changes made on a computer do not show in the mobile app, so check both.

The older Gmail box is separate. Gmail also has a checkbox called "Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet" on the same General tab. That one controls Smart Compose, Smart Reply, summary cards and the Primary, Social and Promotions tabs. It is not the Gemini switch. Turning it off loses those features, and leaving it on does not turn Gemini back on.

If you live in Europe or the UK, check before you change anything. Google says these settings are off by default in the European Economic Area, Japan, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Gemini in Docs only appears with an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan, per Google's Docs help. If you see the Ask Gemini button but just want to wipe what it produced, More options, then Clear history, removes generated text you have not inserted.

Work or school account? Your administrator decides who can use Gemini. Google's admin page says "As an administrator, you control who uses the Gemini app in your organization." If the settings above are greyed out, ask your IT team.

For more on what Google's AI can and cannot do with your inbox, see does Google AI read my Gmail, and for the full set of Gmail privacy switches, how to stop Google reading your emails.

How to turn off Gemini in Chrome

Gemini in Chrome is opt-in: Google says you have to agree the first time you use it. After that it adds an icon to the top of the browser and, on a computer, to the Mac menu bar or Windows system tray. To hide it and limit what it sees, Google's Gemini in Chrome page gives these steps:

1. Open Chrome and click More, then Settings.
2. Click AI innovations, then Gemini in Chrome.
3. Under "Preferences," turn off Show Gemini at the top of the browser, plus Show Gemini in Mac menu bar or Show Gemini in system tray, depending on your computer.
4. Under "Permissions," turn off Share current tab by default, and any of Precise location, Microphone and Let Gemini browse for you you do not want.

A quicker way to drop the icon: right-click the top of the browser and click Unpin Gemini.

The tab setting matters most for privacy. By default, when you open Gemini in Chrome it reads the page in your current tab and uses it to answer. Google also has a Media understanding setting, on by default, that lets Gemini answer questions about audio and video you have played. You can switch it off at chrome://settings/ai/gemini.

Gemini in Chrome is not available in Incognito mode.

How to stop the Gemini app saving your chats

If you still want to use Gemini now and then, but do not want a long history, the switch is Keep Activity. Google's activity page says it is on by default if you are 18 or over. To turn it off:

1. Go to gemini.google.com.
2. Click Settings & help, then Activity.
3. Near the top, click On, then Turn off or Turn off and delete activity.

You can also reach the same page at myactivity.google.com/product/gemini.

What off still keeps. Google says that even with Keep Activity off, your chats are saved with your account for up to 72 hours to run the service and handle feedback. Gems you create are still saved. Our explainer on whether Gemini is private covers the longer retention for chats a human reviewer has seen.

If you want history, but shorter. On the same page, click Deleting activity older than … months or Choose an auto-delete option. The default is 18 months. You can choose 3 or 36 months, or Don't auto-delete activity.

Disconnect your other apps. To stop Gemini reaching into Gmail, Drive and other connected services, go to gemini.google.com, click Customize (click More first if you do not see it), then Connectors. Next to each app, click More options, then Disconnect. Google notes that with Keep Activity off, Connected Apps are not available on the web or on iPhone anyway.

Gotchas Google mentions

• Deleting the Android app is not enough. Change the default digital assistant first, or the power button can still call it.
• Location comes from the Google app. On Android, Gemini uses the location permission you gave the Google app. Check it under Settings, Location, App location permissions, Google, then "Use precise location."
• Screen sharing bypasses the Workspace switch. Google says that even with "Smart features in other Google products" off, Workspace data you share with Gemini through screen actions or screenshots is still sent.
• Turning off is forward-looking. Google says that turning off a smart feature setting stops your content being used from then on, but "learnings developed from this improvement process may persist."

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn off Gemini on my phone completely?

On Android, set Default digital assistant app to None or another app, turn off "Hey Google" and Use Gemini without unlocking, then delete the Gemini app if you want it gone. Google says deleting the app alone does not remove it as your assistant.

How do I turn off Gemini on iPhone?

On iPhone, Gemini is a separate app, so deleting it removes it from the phone. The Gmail smart features and Keep Activity settings above belong to your Google Account, so change those too if you use Gemini anywhere else.

How do I get rid of the Gemini button in Gmail?

Turn off Smart features in Google Workspace in Gmail's settings. On a work or school account, your administrator controls whether Gemini is available at all.

Does turning off Gemini delete my old chats?

No, not on its own. Choose Turn off and delete activity when you turn off Keep Activity, or delete past chats at myactivity.google.com/product/gemini.

Can I turn off Gemini in Google Docs?

Yes. Google says the Workspace smart features setting covers "Gemini in Workspace apps like Gmail, Docs, and more," so turn off Smart features in Google Workspace. You can also manage it from Drive under Settings, Privacy, Manage Workspace smart feature settings.

If your email is the part you care about

Turning off Gemini changes what Google's AI does with your Gmail. The mail itself stays in your Google account. If you would rather keep email somewhere that is not built around an ad business, Secria Mail has no ads and Secria never mines your mail. Your mailbox is locked with a key made from your password, on your device, and every plan, the free one included, uses post-quantum encryption. Signing up takes a name, the address you want and a password, with no phone number. You can read about Secria Mail or create a free account and import your old mail from Gmail.