I’m pretty sure I disabled/removed it when I got this phone. I don’t specifically remember doing it but when I get a new phone, I watch some YouTube videos on how to purge all the crap I don’t want.
I read an article that mentioned using command line stuff to eliminate it and it kind looked familiar. I think I did this. I really should write stuff down.
My gf got one of those emails, but she doesnt have the Gemini app installed on her phone. All of the instruction articles I can find only explain how to turn it off if you have the app.
Does not having the app mean that she’s safe from this, or does it mean that she needs to download the app to disable the “feature”?
I also don’t have a Gemini app but if you search for Gemini in the Settings main menu, it shows up.
I don’t have the app, and searching for “gemini” only gives “gemini settings” which when clicked opens the promt of “do you accept changing Google assistant to gemini”, clicking “not now” just sends me back to setting search.
Thank you. We had actually already checked this but had not found Gemini in the settings.
Turns out typing “gem” in the settings search is not enough. Only typing “Gemini” returned a result.
Sneaky, aren’t they?
I remember getting flamed so hard for saying that Google/android was incredibly invasive tech. I was laughed at, called an apple fanboy and accused of schilling.
Sadly, it looks like I’m the one laughing now.
Lol and Apple doesnt do any of that?
Show me evidence they do.
I can’t. Everything they release is proprietary and locked down, so let’s just trust their narrative.
I can only recommend well researched eyeopener from Techaltar: https://youtu.be/JHnBOUNxHsw
So, they’re doing shit you can prove, but they’re doing it. Do I have that right?
I will be honest that I don’t know what exact shit are we discussing here I rather wanted to point out that Apple might not be as much privacy first company as they like to present themselves.
If they’re not, I’m sure it should be easy for you to provide evidence to support your claim. That’s all I’m asking.
That is the shit we are talking about.
They haven’t done anything with that data yet*
While clearly the lesser evil in this moment, I wouldn’t count on that lasting forever.
As every user at some points mentions: They are a public company and once they can’t satisfy their shareholders, they will turn on the data faucet to 3rd parties. They already have the an advertisement CDN.
They already have everything in place to achieve that situation.
No proof.
But even the US is scared of encrypted exfiltrated data because their adversaries could crack the encryption later on.Same here.
They have the data and for now decided to not yet do do anything too bad with it.
But Google also had the motto “Don’t be evil” at one point.So…. No proof.
Apple absolutely does collect huge amounts of data from the users. The difference is they don’t directly ‘sell’ that data to advertisers. Instead they get paid to personalize the ads themselves and wear that as a badge for ‘advocating privacy’. Stock Android is horrendous compared to what Apple does, yes. However you usually have the option to ditch it for a more privacy respecting Android.
Look up a YT channel called Tech-Bore
That ain’t proof.
Yes it is, because he shows you
Same for you. Proof that Apple isn’t using it to analyze your (usage) data.
And it’s not okay just because it’s the 1st party analyzing it because they arent selling it.I am really tired of the hypocrisy of some lemmy users advocating for maximum privacy to the detriment of everyone around them but on the other hand just saying “yeah, that’s totally fine” and basically breaking all their principles.
The article we are commenting on, along with the countless others that call out Google/android for snooping in your data and selling it off is my proof.
I really tired of lemmy users that think because one thing is bad- ALL things similar are bad.
Is almost like nuance is just something kids don’t seem to understand anymore.
Not that I support this, but hasn’t Google Assistant been able to do that for years? Sending texts via the voice assistant has been, like, one of the main selling points.
Kinda, but the thing this time is that they will change it f unilaterally rom their side, even if you specifically disabled this connectivity on your phone. So they want that data reallyyyyy badly. So even more important to not give it to them.
Signal is also a great alternative to WhatsApp. Molly for the extra privacy focused.
I can’t find Gemini on my phone.
It’s absolutely there,it relaced assistant…
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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.
Kinda seems fucking stupid
I haven’t turned it on. Am I safe?
Nop. Disable it in the settings/apps
I cannot find it as an app in the app listing.
I find it only through search in settings, and it opens a screen - asking to activate it.
It seems weird.
I got a privacy update for Gmail tools too. It used to be to enable smart tools you needed to allow google to read your email. That does stuff like automatically add calendar events for flights and such.
Now you must also allow the email to be read by their AI services too. I can’t recall precisely how it was worded, but it was an easy decision to keep the “smart” features off.
I mean, I really just use Gmail as the email address I give to sign up for sites and such, but would be good just not to have it one day.
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.
Privacy-conscious Indians are gonna have a nightmare. Indians excessively use whatsapp.
Everyone outside of the US uses whatsapp.
In Norway we use Facebook Messenger, which is worse. Wattsapp’s at least usable as a messaging platform for more than 1-to-1 communication
Viber is more popular in eastern europe
Sure , in 2010.
Still is. At least in my country its probably more popular than the rest of them combined.
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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 the Gemini app is not installed, it can’t do this right
laughs in LineageOS
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.
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.
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.
My OnePlus 2 (latest official android was 6, it’s running lineageos android 11 though) also got its assistant swapped with Gemini so idk
Google Play is separate from Android. Google likely updates it through that route, rather than relying on manufacturers.
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.
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.
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.
In my case it doesnt appear in the App drawer but when I opened assistant it offered me switching to Gemini, which I did. Then within it, went to Apps to disable integrations like WhatsApp which by default was ON. Same with SMS and others.
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
Good that I don’t do any updates apart from some apps.
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.
