How to turn off Gemini, and what each setting does

The short answer

As of November 5, 2026, Google's help pages describe a separate control for each place Gemini appears, and not one switch that turns off all of them.

They describe a Keep Activity setting that stops Gemini chats from being saved to your activity, Android settings for the default assistant app, the power button, "Hey Google" and the lock screen, smart-features settings that Google says also control Gemini features in Gmail and other Workspace apps, and settings that hide Gemini in Chrome. For AI Overviews in Search, Google's help page says the feature cannot be turned off.

Stop Gemini from saving your chats (Keep Activity)

Google's Gemini Apps Help calls the setting Keep Activity. It says the setting is on by default for users 18 and over. When you turn it off, Google says your conversations are saved with your account for up to 72 hours, to provide the service and process feedback, and do not appear in your Gemini Apps Activity.

Google's page says that with Keep Activity off, only some connected apps remain available: Device assistance, Gemini Notebook, Messages, Phone and WhatsApp. It says Gems you create are still saved, but chats with Gems are not.

• Computer: go to gemini.google.com, click Settings & help, then Activity. Near the top, click On, then choose Turn off or Turn off and delete activity.
• Android: open the Gemini app, tap Menu, then your profile picture or initial, then Gemini Apps Activity. Near the top, tap On, then Turn off or Turn off and delete activity.

Auto-delete and deleting past activity

Google's page says activity older than 18 months is deleted automatically by default, and that you can choose 3, 18 or 36 months, or choose not to auto-delete. Deleting is a separate step from turning Keep Activity off.

• Change auto-delete (computer): Settings & help, then Activity. Click Deleting activity older than months, or Choose an auto-delete option, pick a period and click Next. On Android, the same option is under Menu, your profile icon, then Gemini Apps Activity.
• Delete activity (computer): Settings & help, then Activity, then Delete. Choose All time, Last hour, Last day or Custom range. You can also delete one day or one item. On Android, use Delete in Gemini Apps Activity.
• Delete a single chat (computer): hover over the chat in the side panel, open More options and choose Delete. On Android, open the menu, press and hold the chat under Recent, then tap Delete. Google's page says deleting a chat from recent or pinned chats also deletes it from Gemini Apps Activity.
• Work or school accounts: Google's page says you can't delete chats there, and that an administrator controls Gemini Apps Activity.

What turning activity off does and does not do

Google's Gemini Apps Privacy Hub, which shows a last-updated date of October 26, 2026 in its English version, says that with Keep Activity off, future chats are still saved with your account for 72 hours. It says that with Keep Activity off or in a temporary chat, Google still uses chats to respond and to help protect Google, its users and the public, including with human reviewers.

The hub also says chats reviewed by human reviewers, and related data such as language, device type, location information or feedback, are not deleted when you delete your activity. It says they are retained for up to three years.

The hub says temporary chats are not used to improve Google AI with help from human reviewers. It also says that with Keep Activity off, future chats won't be used to train its AI models unless you choose to send Google feedback, and that with Keep Activity on, Google uses your activity to provide, develop and improve its services, including training generative AI models.

Google's activity page says deleting a chat does not delete the Gem it used or the public link to a shared chat. It says Google aims to remove deleted data from view immediately and then delete it from its storage systems. For more on Gemini's privacy terms and age rules, see our guide to whether Gemini is safe.

Android: assistant app, power button, Hey Google and lock screen

Google's Gemini Apps Help page on managing or deleting the Gemini app on an Android device lists a section called "Switch from Gemini to Google Assistant" in its contents. We do not give switch-to-Assistant steps here. What we read on that page describes the settings below, which differ by device and Android version.

Google's page says the Settings path for the default assistant shows "Google" whether you use Google Assistant or Gemini, so the label alone does not tell you which one is set.

• Change or remove the default assistant app: Google's page describes Settings, then Apps, then Default apps, then Digital assistant app, then Default digital assistant app, where you can choose another app or None.
• Remove Gemini from the power button: the page describes Settings, then System, then Gestures, then Press & hold power button. It says the path varies by device.
• Turn off "Hey Google": the page describes opening the Gemini app, then your profile, then Settings, then Talk to Gemini hands-free.
• Lock screen: the page describes a setting for stopping Gemini on the lock screen.
• Delete the app: Google's page says deleting the Gemini app does not by itself remove Gemini as the assistant on the device.

Gemini in Gmail, Docs and other Workspace apps

Google's smart features help page describes three separate settings: one for Gmail, Chat and Meet, one for Google Workspace, and one for other Google products. It says each works independently. It says that turning off the Google Workspace setting also stops Gemini features, including Ask Gemini to summarize content, along with Gmail events in Calendar and personalized Drive search.

The same page says smart feature settings are off by default in the EEA, Japan, Switzerland and the UK.

• Computer, Gmail: click the gear icon, open the full settings, and on the General tab find Google Workspace smart features. Click Manage Workspace smart feature settings, turn off each setting, then click Save.
• The Gmail, Chat and Meet setting is a separate box on the same tab, Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet. Google says clearing it stops features such as Smart Compose, Smart Reply in email and summary cards, but that the Workspace smart feature settings are not affected.
• Phone: Google's page says you can change these settings in the Gmail app on Android, iPhone or iPad but does not list the steps. It says some changes made on a computer may not appear in the mobile app.
• Work or school accounts: Google's admin help says administrators can turn Gemini on or off by service, including Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Meet and Chat, in the Admin console under Generative AI, then Gemini for Workspace, then Feature access. It says this panel is available only in certain editions and that users need smart features and personalization turned on to use Gemini in these services.
• Gemini app for work accounts: a separate Admin console setting, Service status under Generative AI, then Gemini app, controls access to gemini.google.com and the Gemini mobile apps. Google says it does not change other AI features in Workspace services.

Gemini in Chrome

Google's Chrome help page says Gemini in Chrome is being released gradually and may not be available to you. It says it uses the content of your current tab by default. The page does not describe a single switch that fully disables the feature for an individual user; it describes hiding it and limiting what it can access.

• Hide the icon: in Chrome, click More, then Settings, then AI innovations, then Gemini in Chrome. Under Preferences, turn off Show Gemini at the top of the browser. You can also right-click the top of the browser and choose Unpin Gemini.
• Limit access: in the same settings, under Permissions, turn off Share current tab by default, Microphone, Precise location or Let Gemini browse for you.
• Parents can turn off a child's access with Family Link, and for work or school accounts the page says an administrator controls access.
• The page's steps are for a computer. We did not find removal steps for Chrome on Android or iPhone in the page.

AI Overviews in Search

Google's help page on AI Overviews says features cannot be turned off. As of November 5, 2026, we found no setting in Google's pages that turns them off.

The same page says that after you search, you can select the Web filter, which it says shows text-based links without features like AI Overviews. Google presents this as a per-search choice, not a permanent setting. It also describes an AI in Search toggle in Labs, but that controls Google's experimental AI features, and the page does not say it affects AI Overviews.