this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2025
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Android

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120
How to turn off Gemini on Android — and why you should (proton.me)
submitted 1 week ago by cm0002@lemmy.world to c/android@lemdro.id
34 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Google is quietly rolling out its Gemini AI tool as the default assistant on Android, even on devices where users never explicitly enabled it. In many cases, Gemini replaces Google Assistant by default, making it increasingly challenging to disable fully.

This deep integration means Gemini can still be active in the background, accessing your apps, system features, and personal info.

Here's what Gemini can access:

Gmail 
Google Calendar 
Google Drive & Docs 
Maps, Keep, Tasks
Messages, Phone, and even WhatsApp

Even more concerning:

Your data is used to train Google’s AI.
Human reviewers may see your chats.
Data can be shared with 3rd parties.
As of July 2025, Gemini stays connected to apps even when activity tracking is turned off.

🛑 You can’t fully disable Gemini, but you can limit it:

How to limit Gemini on Android:

Turn off activity tracking
Revoke permissions
Uninstall it (if possible)

Further options, if you’re privacy-conscious:

Reduce your reliance on Google services or fully de-Google
Consider a privacy-first OS like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS

⚠️ Google is making Gemini the default assistant for all Android devices by the end of 2025.

Choose privacy over AI surveillance.

If you want tools that respect your data, ensure you use encrypted email, a private calendar, and a secure cloud, with no AI training or human review.

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[–] flop_leash_973@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The stuff you are complaining about are not only not in your control on either platform but are the result of deals between carriers and OEMs, not technical options or limitations of the OS imposed by the OEM post sale. Which is what I was talking about. Your options for getting rid of that carrier junk also expand greatly with ADB.

Additionally the iPhone comes with tons of pre-loaded apps included in the OS image that someone might not want as well (Stocks, Numbers, etc). It is just that it is Apples apps and for some reason a lot of people have a blind spot when the bloatware is coming from the OEM themselves. Some of them not completely uninstallable either, like the calender app if I remember right. The UI says "uninstall" but if you go to the App Store to reinstall it there is no download or install time, the app just instantly "installs" and reappears in the app list. In other words it was still on the file system the entire time, just like Androids disabled apps.

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works -1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Carrier stuff isn’t an option on iPhone in the USA. It’s been that way since the beginning and one of the reasons only AT&T was willing to play ball when it launched. Carriers here who want to sell iPhones have to sign a contract with Apple and one of the terms of that contract is they can’t push carrier bloat automatically to customers iPhones. They can promote or incentivize those things but they cannot just push apps to your phone.

You can remove any non essential app that comes with iOS just fine. As for reinstalls, some are pretty quick because rather than completely deleting an app, iOS has the ability to offload it. So when you reinstall, it pulls your old settings and data for the app from the cloud rather than making you enter things again.