How to Disable Gemini on Android Phone: I Got My Phone Back

Last updated on December 20th, 2025 at 09:30 am

Look, I will be telling you I did not ask to be given Gemini. The next day I use Google Assistant happily, the following day, this AI appliance takes control of my power button. Whenever I had it down, bang, bang, an interface of Gemini appeared instead of my usual assistant. It was as though Google had made that choice.

And so I did what any Android user who is frustrated will do, I learned how to switch it off. Spoiler alert, however, you can never get it out of your system (Google took care of that), but you can certainly make sure it gets to the trash pavement. This is what is working in my case.

The Reasons I Wanted Gemini Gone to begin with.

We have to discuss the how first, but what is the why. Gemini is not so bad, he’s too numerous. Google is driving it to the limit as the future of Android assistants, and by the end of 2025, it will have fully supplanted Google Assistant.

My issue is this however, I did not desire to be part of the beta testing of the Google AI experiment. I wanted my plain, steady fellow again. Besides, the privacy updates of July 2025 gave me the creepies – now, even when app activity tracking is turned off, Gemini can view your Phone, Messages, and WhatsApp. That’s a hard pass for me.

The Least Devout option: Change Back to Google Assistant.

This is what I had to do first, and frankly, it helped me to get out 90 percent of the irritation.

Here’s the process I followed:

• Tapped my profile icon (title icon on the top right) in the Google app.
• Went to Settings, then Gemini
• Stores checked all the way down to Google Digital assistants.
• Used Google Assistant rather than Gemini.

That’s it. There was no longer Gemini appearing whenever I used a power button or gave a command to Hey Google.

The catch? This is temporary. Google is gradually winding up Assistant altogether, so you essentially decide to buy time in the process. At least in the meantime, it is fine.

Going Nuclear: Deactivate the Gemini App.

If you are keen on having Gemini disabled, you can do it via the app settings of your phone. I tested this on my Pixel, and it was a success.

Here’s what I did:

• Then went to Settings – Apps (some phones refer to it as All apps).
• Found Gemini in the list
• Tapped it and hit Force stop
• Then tapped Disable

Warning fair Gemini is treated by some phones as a system app, and it can not be fully disabled without additional tools. I am addressing Samsung users. Other Google services may be interfered with or your phone throws an error.

Prevent Gemini From Surveillance of Your Apps.

This one is crucial when it comes to a question of privacy. Although Gemini is crippled, it could potentially access your messages, calls and other applications. This is something that I did not appreciate until I explored the settings.

Here’s how I cut off its access:

• Switch Off Gemini Applications:
• Opened Gemini app (I know,ironic)
• Tapped my profile icon
• Went to Gemini Apps Activity
• Clicked on Turn off and selected Turn off and delete activity.

The annoying thing in this case is that even when this is off after July 2025, Gemini will still (voice command) be able to access Phone, messaging, etc as well as WhatsApp. Google claims that it does not keep the data, but I do not believe it.

Block Individual App Access:

• I even did it by turning off every app integration manually:
• Clicked on Gemini and accessed my profile picture.
  Went to Apps
• ‘Off Messages,Phone,WhatsApp, Gmail–what -just about everything.

This was excessive, but with me it brought serenity.

Kick Gemini off Your Power Button.

This is a gratifying fix to the problem of you, like I, hating Gemini grabbing the power button.

On most Android phones:

• Go to Settings
• Search for “Gemini”
• Open Gemini Settings
• Google Google Find Digital assistants.
• Choose Google Assistant

In Samsung phones, it is a bit different:

• Settings – Advanced Features – Side Button.
• Select Long Press
• Instead select Power off menu.

There should be no more Gemini launch accidents. Finally.

The Truth Test: You Can’t Delete It Completely.

This is where the news that I found out the hard way comes in: Gemini is being baked into Android at this point. It is no longer a removable app as it is now a part of the operating system.

You have the ability to turn it off, prevent its permissions, and replace it with Google Assistant, which is still present in the code of your phone and lurking there. Should that bother you (and it actually bothered me), your one and only, in truth, move is either with high-tech tools such as ADB tools or to a privacy-oriented Android operating system such as GrapheneOS.

For most people, though? The above methods are sufficient to restore your phone.

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