"Hey Google" A Few Questions About It

[SennaSempre]

Trying to understand my new Android phone here, does the Hey Google feature set up the speak-to-text in 3rd-party apps like YouTube, Telegram, Notes, etc? That access doesn't work for me on any or my apps. I always shutdown lots of unnecessary feature when I get a new electronic device and I think I may have shut this down without knowing.

I just want to use a speak-to-text feature to talk into apps for navigation purposes of finding stuff in YouTube or a talk-to-text message through Telegram and talking into the default Notes and that's it really. I don't need the OS to setup alerts, or whatever else it does. I don't want a Siri or Alexa type equivalent listening to everything I say and logging it.

I want to use a talk-to-text feature only when using that app like the ones I said above. And if I can activate it by just pressing an icon and then it works only then and no other time then that would be ideal. I have my iPhone setup this way, can I do it with Android? I think the hey Google is like Siri or Alexa if that is correct? I don't want my own personal Big Brother listening to everything I say and sending it to my profile to NSA in Tooele, Utah.

 

[Quintessa]

does the Hey Google feature set up the speak-to-text in 3rd-party apps like YouTube, Telegram, Notes, etc?

You don't need "Hey Google" at all for that. Try this:
1. Search for "Gboard" on your settings > set it as default input method.
2. Enable Voice typing
3. Optional: disable “Google Assistant” > Hey Google hotword access

Now, in apps like Telegram, YouTube, Notes:
1. Tap any text field
2. Tap mic icon on Gboard
3. Try to speak

And if I can activate it by just pressing an icon and then it works only then

Yes. As long as "Hey Google" is off, and Gboard voice typing is enabled, this works exactly like iPhone's dictation button, no background listening.

NSA in Tooele, Utah.

😂 You're safe if you're just using Gboard's speech-to-text, it's event-triggered, not ambient. Let me know if you use a custom ROM or non-Gboard keyboard, results can vary.

 

[SennaSempre]

I guess the ZTE UI doesn't have the Gboard? Any other route possible?

 

[Ken g6]

I guess the ZTE UI doesn't have the Gboard? Any other route possible?

Does ZTE have the Google Play Store?

Gboard - the Google Keyboard - Apps on Google Play

Fast and smart typing with Emojis, GIFs, and more

play.google.com

 

[lxskllr]

Other keyboards have a mic icon, so presumably have voice typing. It isn't a feature I use, so I have no idea how it works, but it's something to try if you don't want/can't get google apps.

F-Droid Search: keyboard

search.f-droid.org

My short list would be Fossify keyboard, and Florisboard. I use Unexpected, but afaik, it doesn't have voice typing.

 

[SennaSempre]

...ok so now I see a bunch of keyboards I didn't see before, probably couldn't find the submenu, but after installing Gboard (I thought that was a default keyboard and not an install) a page popped up with a few keyboards already installed. I got Gboard working now thanks y'all

 

[Red Squirrel]

Even without the assistant turned on regular Android as well as regular IOS listens to you all the time. That's how you get targetted ads based on your conversations. Only way to get around that is to use a custom rom like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS.

 

[SennaSempre]

Even without the assistant turned on regular Android as well as regular IOS listens to you all the time. That's how you get targetted ads based on your conversations. Only way to get around that is to use a custom rom like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS.

...that is good to know. I know that they can listen to you, but I'm trying to shut that down on both my Android and iPhone as much as possible. "GrapheneOS or CalyxOS" thank you for the recommendation, I will look into that.

On another note, I have different Android problem that hopefully some of you guys can chime in on here. Upon shutting down everything I could on my new Android, I inadvertently shut down the phone ringer and can't get it to turn back on.

The regular ringer menu does nothing. So I'm looking for a setting buried deep in a lower submenu somewhere to get my phone to ring. It hasn't rung in a month and I missed every call. The phone has actually never rung once since I bought it, (maybe its a blessing in disguise lol)

 

[mindless1]

Even without the assistant turned on regular Android as well as regular IOS listens to you all the time. That's how you get targetted ads based on your conversations. Only way to get around that is to use a custom rom like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS.

Link to hard evidence of this?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Link to hard evidence of this?

It's a pretty well established fact and you can test this yourself, purposely have a conversation about something then go on Facebook or other social media and chances are you will see an ad on that thing, or a post on that thing. Facebook is the one I've seen it the most. I don't have that app on my phone now but I originally did when I was running the stock OS before I realized how much of a privacy invasion smartphones with regular OS are. It's not just the OS spying on you but lot of the individual apps too.

 

[mindless1]

^ Seems like a combination of paranoia, other tracking methods, and coincidence, unless you have a link to hard evidence.

I don't go on social media sites with my phone and rarely FB on a desktop that has multiple mechanisms blocking ads, and then only to the thing/page that caused me to get an email notification.

I do have conversations all the time within audible range of my Google Home Mini, but never any evidence if it doing that either - though if I block the ads, what do I really care? I'm sure that one way or another, Google has profiles on all of us.

I briefly looked into your claim and only saw info debunking it.

 

[lxskllr]

I've read stuff like that before. If true, I think it points more towards shitware people install(like facebook) than core android/ios functionality, though they could facilitate it I guess.

I don't get ads on my stock manufacturer roms. Previously samsung, and now motorola. If I can access something with a web browser, I do. Nothing gets permission to do anything unless it's useful to me, and a lot builtin programs get disabled if I don't use them. I could count the programs I installed from the playstore on less than one hand. Plain old android can be locked down sufficiently well. You just need to take the time to do it.

 

[SennaSempre]

I've accidentally burned my house down a few years ago and suddenly after that, less than 2 weeks afterwards, I kept seeing many, many and more manys, short video adverts on YouTube for fire prevention and fire insurance and all fire crap stuff that I've never seen advertised before on any social media platform. Now that couldn't be just a coincidence. My iPhone had to be listening to me.

Back to my question - if anyone here can get my phone to actually ring for once, maybe I could take a call here and there lol any buried setting that I'm missing?