How to stop your devices from listening to you

Silence the digital ears: How to stop your smart devices from always listening

Smartphones and smart speakers are designed to respond to voice commands, but constant listening raises privacy concerns and can lead to accidental activation. This guide shows you how to disable the "always-on" listening feature on your devices without completely disabling voice control. You'll still be able to activate your assistant manually.

Disabling "Always-On" Listening on Your Phone

Google Pixel/Samsung Galaxy (for Google Assistant):

1. Go to your phone's Settings.
2. Tap Apps, then find and tap Assistant.
3. Select Hey Google & Voice Match.
4. Toggle Hey Google to the Off position.

You can still activate Google Assistant by long-pressing the power button.

iPhone (for Siri):

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Siri & Search.
3. Tap Listen for, then choose Off.

Hands-free Siri activation will be disabled. You can still activate Siri by long-pressing the Side button (unless you also disable this option in Siri & Search).

Disabling "Always-On" Listening on Your Smart Speaker

Google Nest:

Locate the physical mic-off switch (underneath on the Nest Mini, on the back of the Nest Audio, or at the top back on Nest smart displays). The speaker will confirm the change. Flip the switch to re-enable voice control.

Apple HomePod/HomePod Mini:

1. Say "Hey Siri, stop listening" and confirm the change. OR
2. Use the Home app: Select your HomePod, tap the gear icon, choose Listen for “Siri” or “Hey Siri,” and disable the feature.

To manually activate listening, press and hold the top of the speaker.

Amazon Echo:

Find the physical mic-off button (a circle with a line through it). Pressing this will mute the microphone, indicated by a red light and tone. Press again to re-enable voice control.

Important Note: Disabling the "always-on" listening feature will prevent voice activation, but other features (like music streaming) will remain functional. The HomePod offers a unique feature allowing manual activation even when the "always-on" listening is disabled, unlike Google Nest and Amazon Echo devices.

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