Signal is also a great alternative to WhatsApp. Molly for the extra privacy focused.
Oh hell nah
If the Gemini app is not installed, it can’t do this right
This is my assumption too. It’s disabled for me. I have no plans to change that.
I don’t even have a Gemini app installed in the first place.
Gemini was automatically installed for me, and the app connections were all enabled, like the article describes. Better check and be safe than to be sorry
Same, but somehow there was a warning and a possibility to switch back to Google assistant instead, which I did
It keeps changing back to Gemini on its own for me even if I don’t use the assistant at all.
I’m rather confused. I don’t have any app called Gemini installed, but despite this “Hey Google” brings up Gemini. So I have no app to disable, and no way to turn off interaction with other apps. This is on a Samsung A55 in Europe, happily taking advice on how to proceed.
I found settings for it in my phone’s settings menu, so yeah, no standalone app you can disable or remove. They baked it into the OS.
My four year old low-end test device running Android had its assistant switched out from Google Assistant to Gemini. I was very surprised since I’d assumed that the vendor had stopped supporting it since it was so cheap, but it updated anyway.
Google Play is separate from Android. Google likely updates it through that route, rather than relying on manufacturers.
My OnePlus 2 (latest official android was 6, it’s running lineageos android 11 though) also got its assistant swapped with Gemini so idk
Exactly. It is an odd advice - disable something you had to install first just to disable?
It installed itself as part of an update package.
In the case of my fully updated pixel 9 pro XL, Gemini was installed from the factory. I uninstalled it and installed Google Assistant. It has not re-installed itself for me, and further, I would recommend that if you don’t use Gemini, you uninstall it.
This may change once the July patch hits but. As of right now it’s not currently installed.
In my case (Galaxy S21) I can only disable it, not uninstall.
Update of what? Android or something else?
It must be an Android update as that’s all I ever do, and I never installed Gemini. I just checked and it was there, with permissions to access WhatsApp and multiple other apps. I just removed all the permissions and disabled the app. We’ll see if any future updates turn it back on.
Shhhhhneeeeeky bastards.
Pro tip: you can probably uninstall Gemini via ADB. Android won’t let you uninstall it using your phone’s UI, but since it’s just another package you can probably use the old ADB tricks to wipe it from your phone. Use your favorite search engine to figure out how, it’s not exactly a secret.
Or if you prefer GUI on device apps, Shizuku and then use Cantata
Yes. It was bundled as part of either a system or security update.
It was bundled as part of either a system or security update.
🤣🤣🤣 This is brilliant, I dedicate that to “updates good” crowd.
I was fully expecting that, but since enshittification recently intensified (Android 15’s bluetooth settings are a giant step back in usability), neither google play nor system in general nor anything from motorola has internet access on my phone, I send everything through RethinkVPN (from f-droid) and block all internet access except for apps that I explicitly allow. I’m just not updating anything except periodically Signal, IronFox and PipePipe.
Good thing I don’t have that shit on my phone (at least until Google forces it)
The people you’re messaging might, though.
Don’t go and manually install it.
The misinformation about this has been wild.
What I hate most about this is the lack of control over this it implies. Sure, maybe you don’t install this on your device, but all that’s needed for Google to access your messages now is for someone you message to have it installed and enabled, then anything you send to them will be gobbled up by Google.
If I have the app disabled it probably can’t do anything right?
Which app ?
The Gemini app. I can’t uninstall it from my phone but I have it disabled. Not sure if Google’s other account access and apps on my phone are going to still feed into Gemini.
If your phone is unaltered in any way, absolutely nothing you do on it is private, even turned off.
Sweating over one app when your entire phone is the posterboy for spyware? lol
Why are you being downvoted for this? In stock devices the user has no way to even start looking at what is being run. All you can do is trust the manufacturer.
Because it’s worth plugging up some privacy holes even if you can’t get all of them. Google already knows my name, address, and phone number, but that’s no reason to let 5th Edition Character Sheet learn it too. They already have gigabytes of personally identifiable data on me, doesn’t mean I’m cool with them bumping that up to terabytes
I think when google app and play services still present on your device, it feeds data into gemini anyway. Hope you are not using google vanilla apps.
By the way why you arent able to uninstall gemini app ? 🤔 Did you tried lineage os with microg which is way better ?!
I have stock android on a pixel and was able to just uninstall it. So it’s not all devices at least
Hopefully unintalling and disabling is actually doing something. I feel like they are just tricking us and you can’t really disable it.
Is this a US only thing? I have no email and no Gemini app (although there are settings in system)
I hope so considering I talk to others who will have Android phones with Google on it.
Me on my de-googled phone:
Yeah, and it’s presumptious of them to access the WhatsApp account I don’t have…
And to want to access my schedules to book appointments for flights I can’t afford
For those on Pixel devices, check out GrapheneOS. If not CalyxOS or LineageOS
Its important that we have devices that we control. If your phone doesn’t allow bootloader unlock so you can install a different operating system, that’s a problem. Claims that security is compromised if bootloaders can be unlocked are just companies using a convenient excuse to maintain control over a device you paid for.
The reason they don’t want you to unlock your bootloader is because of security…
…security of their revenue stream, that is.
The whole reason GrapheneOS develops only for Pixels is that you can relock the bootloader though, right? (Along with other security features)
Anyway yeah companies still suck for not letting you relock them.
I don’t believe that’s a pixel specific benefit but yes relocking the bootloader is best for security. The unlocking process is needed to install an alternative OS though.
Verizon branded pixels are unable to unlock the bootloader, I.e, mine. No amount of phone support will change this.
It’s actually a whole list of requirements. https://grapheneos.org/faq#future-devices
Pixel has a built in feature that screens my calls and sends spammers to a bot. Graphene has no equivalent to this.
In order for that feature to work, you need to give google permission to see who’s calling you and when activated (and possibly even when not activated) listen to the phone conversation. That data is going back to google servers for processing. Gemini is also feeding off of that data. If you’re concerned with the original post regarding WhatsApp data being fed to Gemini, why would you be okay with allowing google to listen in on your phone conversations, all for the small convenience of avoiding spam bots?
If you have voicemail and caller ID, just don’t pickup the call if it isn’t from a known contact.
If you’re also thinking that google isn’t collecting data without your consent, they literally just got fined 300+ million for doing exactly that.
Cool, the app that doesn’t exist on my phone will access an account I don’t have. I’ve never used WhatsApp and I don’t plan to start now.
They’d have to install it first.
Google play services says bonjour
Yes, but the phones of all your peers will have that shit on them.
These instructions are awful. There’s no Gemini listed in my apps, and Settings > Apps doesn’t show it either. But if I search for “Gemini” in settings, THEN it shows up, but doesn’t have access to anything the article says to do.
However, from that screen, I was able to apparently turn off its access to everything, and switch back to assistant, which appears to have turned it off completely, but who knows if it’s still lurking in the background.
I have Android 16 on a Pixel 8 but no Gemini. Is it not installed if I chose “No thanks” when I got the info screens about it?
Open settings, and search for"Gemini" from the search bar. That’s the only way I was able to get to anything Gemini related. I turned off it’s access to everything from there, then the last setting was to switch back to assistant which appears to have turned Gemini off, but who knows (hence disabling it’s access to everything anyway).
With search there’s only a single “Gemini Settings” that is found. That opens a wizard for me. On the second page, after scrolling all the way down, I can select “No thanks”. That’s what I was referring to. I was wondering if that’s enough.
