Google Assistant is currently baked into LG's 2018 ThinQ AI TV lineup and all generations of the DISH Hopper DVR set-top box. This means owners of these devices with Assistant built in can command their TV, call up information, manage tasks, control smart home devices, and more with the power of their voice. However, this also means you're granting Google and the device manufacturer access to some of your personal information. If you don't reckon that to be a worthwhile trade-off, there's a simple way to shut off access to this information on non-Android TV devices.
When you set up your TV or set-top box running on a non-Android TV OS, you may agree to information-sharing terms for Assistant and whatever device-specific voice services available (e.g., ThinQ AI) without a second thought. If you do, fear not — you can easily turn off info sharing by taking these steps:
- Engage your device's voice services (either by pressing and holding the mic button on the remote control for LG's 2018 ThinQ AI TVs, or by saying "Ok Google" or "Hey Google" to your DISH Hopper DVR)
- Say: "Disable information sharing"
That's it. It's worth noting that disabling info sharing means Assistant and your device manufacturer's voice services will stop working altogether. And to reiterate, this is applicable only to non-Android TV devices.
If you end up missing the convenience of voice commands, you can just as easily turn info sharing on again by engaging your TV or set-top box's voice services, asking a question or saying a command, then agreeing to the info sharing terms (again).
Google's help page sharing these steps also specifies what info is shared:
Google and the device manufacturer share info like:
- Device name
- Zip code
- Location
- Device settings
- Device ID
After you link your Google Account to the device, your device manufacturer will also have access to limited personal info, like:
- Name
- Email address
- Profile URL and photo, if you have a Google+ profile
- Language preferences
During a conversation, Google and the device manufacturer may use what you said and content on your screen to create a better response.
Google also says that any personal info the company shares with the device manufacturer "may not be used by the device manufacturer for any other purposes, including advertising or building user profiles."
Go to Google's help page for turning off info sharing on non-Android TV devices to learn more, including how your voice command or query goes from speech to actionable information handled by either Google or the device manufacturer.
Source: Google