How to Turn Off LG TV Voice Assistant

You bought an LG TV. It talks. Maybe it narrates every menu item. Maybe it listens for wake words you never set up. Maybe you just got a popup about Google Assistant being terminated and now something called Copilot is sitting on your home screen. You want all of it off. This guide covers how to turn off LG TV voice assistant features, every relevant toggle, and the context behind why "off" requires more steps than it should.

Key Takeaways

• "Voice" on an LG TV is not one feature. It is at least four separate systems spread across different menus: the accessibility narrator (Voice Guide), the AI assistant, per-app microphone permissions, and stored voice data. You need to address each one independently.
• Google Assistant was removed from LG TVs entirely in May 2025. If you see a termination popup, that is expected. A Microsoft-linked AI assistant quietly replaced it in December 2025, which is why many older tutorials no longer match your screen.
• Disabling the assistant does not revoke microphone access from individual apps, and it does not delete voice data LG has already collected. Those are separate steps under Privacy & Terms.
• LG's mid-2026 terms of service update placed legal responsibility on TV owners to warn household members and guests that their voices may be captured. Turning these features off removes that obligation.
• Even after disabling voice and ad tracking, LG still collects operational data needed for services like Live Plus and LG Channels. Turning off voice does not equal turning off all data collection.

Why Is "Turn Off Voice" Not One Switch?

Because LG's webOS platform treats voice narration, voice recognition, assistant integration, and microphone hardware access as separate subsystems. They were built by different teams, shipped in different firmware updates, and live in different parts of the settings tree. The result: at least four distinct voice-related features controlled in different menu locations, which is why a generic "go to Settings and turn off Voice" tutorial rarely matches what you actually see.

The menu labels also change year to year. A 2022 LG C2 does not have the same settings path as a 2025 LG G5. Consumer Reports notes that since all LG smart TVs run webOS, the general starting point is Settings > All Settings > Support > Privacy & Terms on newer sets, but specific sub-menus vary by model year.

Here is the full list of what you need to turn off, in order.

How Do I Turn Off Voice Guide (the Narrator)?

Voice Guide is the accessibility feature that reads every on-screen element aloud. It is not an assistant. It does not listen to you. It just talks, constantly, as you navigate menus. This is the most common complaint from people who say "my LG TV won't stop talking."

1. Press the Settings (gear) button on your remote.
2. Go to All Settings.
3. Navigate to Accessibility (on some models this is under General > Accessibility).
4. Find Audio Guidance or Voice Guide.
5. Toggle it Off.

On some remotes, holding the mute button for a few seconds will also toggle Voice Guide. This is a shortcut LG added because enough people accidentally turned it on.

If you are visually impaired and want the narrator but at a different speed or volume, you can adjust those parameters in the same Accessibility menu without fully disabling it.

How Do I Disable the AI Voice Assistant?

This is the feature that responds when you press the microphone button on the remote or (on some models) speak a wake word. As of mid-2026, the assistant landscape on LG TVs is messy.

The short history: LG TVs previously offered ThinQ AI and Google Assistant as built-in options. Google Assistant was removed entirely in May 2025. If you see a "Google Assistant Service Termination" popup, you do not need to disable anything. It is already gone. In December 2025, LG quietly pushed a Microsoft-linked AI assistant to TVs via firmware update, which means the voice assistant on your TV today is probably not the one you expected.

To disable whichever assistant is currently active:

1. Press Settings on your remote.
2. Go to All Settings.
3. Navigate to General (or Support, depending on model year).
4. Look for AI Service, Voice Recognition, or AI Assistant. The label varies.
5. Toggle it Off.

On 2024 and 2025 model-year TVs, you may also see a separate toggle for AI Recommendation or AI Concierge. These are related but distinct. Turn them off too if you want no AI-driven features active.

After disabling, pressing the microphone button on the remote should do nothing, or it may bring up a basic channel search. It should not initiate a listening session.

How Do I Revoke Microphone and Camera Access from Apps?

Disabling the assistant does not automatically revoke microphone permissions from individual apps. Apps on webOS can request mic and camera access independently, and those permissions persist even after the main assistant is off.

To check and revoke per-app permissions:

1. Press Settings.
2. Go to All Settings > Support > Privacy & Terms.
3. Select App Permissions.
4. You will see separate lists for Camera and Microphone.
5. Toggle off access for any app that should not have it.

Most people find apps they did not know were installed listed here, because LG pre-installs a number of webOS apps. Go through the full list. If you do not recognize an app and it has microphone access, revoke it.

How Do I Delete Voice Data LG Has Already Collected?

Turning off voice features stops new data collection (in theory). It does not delete data already stored. LG provides a deletion path, though you have to find it.

Navigate to:

1. Settings > All Settings > Support > Privacy & Terms.
2. Select Delete My Personal Information.
3. You will see three options: Delete Viewing Information, Delete Voice Information, and Delete Voice ID.
4. Select each one and press Delete.

Voice ID is a voiceprint LG creates to distinguish between household members. If you have used voice features at all, this likely exists. Delete it.

"Delete Viewing Information" is technically unrelated to voice, but while you are in this menu, you should clear it too. It removes the ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) data LG has collected about what you watch.

Should I Also Disable Ad Tracking and ACR?

Yes. These are not voice features, but they are part of the same data-collection infrastructure, and they live in the same menu. If you are here to limit what your TV knows about you, do all of it at once.

Still in Settings > All Settings > Support > Privacy & Terms:

• Live Plus: Toggle off. This is LG's ACR system that watches what is on screen and serves contextual ads and content overlays.
• Viewing Information / Ad Tracking: Toggle off or limit. The exact label varies by region and firmware version.
• Do Not Sell My Personal Information: Toggle on. Consumer Reports notes this limits third parties from monetizing your data, but LG will still collect information needed to enable services like LG Channels.

This is worth understanding clearly: even with every toggle off, LG retains the right to collect operational data for its own services. "Off" means less collection, not zero collection. The TV is still a networked device running LG's software.

What Happened with LG's Terms of Service in 2026?

In mid-July 2026, users noticed that LG's updated terms of service included a section (6d, "Voice Recognition and Privacy Compliance") stating it is the owner's responsibility "to obtain all necessary consents from any third parties whose voices may be captured by the Product and to notify household members and guests that their voices may be captured and processed." The terms explicitly referenced wiretapping and privacy law compliance.

This means LG placed the legal burden of consent for voice capture on you, the person who bought the TV.

The backlash was significant. In response, LG issued a statement claiming its TVs "do not collect, record, or store ambient conversations," and that voice recognition is "an optional, user-initiated feature that only processes data when the user activates it." LG said customers can use smart TV features without enabling voice recognition.

There is a tension here. Some third-party reports indicated that AI voice services on certain models ship enabled by default, which conflicts with LG's claim that voice recognition is off-by-default and opt-in only. We are not in a position to settle that discrepancy. What we can say: go check your settings right now. If voice recognition is on and you did not turn it on, you have your answer about defaults.

What If My Menu Does Not Match These Instructions?

It probably won't, exactly. LG has shipped dozens of webOS versions across model years, and the settings hierarchy changes with major updates. Here are the most common reasons for a mismatch:

• Older model (pre-2020): The Privacy & Terms menu may be under General instead of Support. Voice features might be labeled "Voice Recognition" instead of "AI Service."
• Firmware update pending: LG sometimes reorganizes menus in firmware updates. Check for updates under All Settings > Support > Software Update, update, then look again.
• Regional variation: TVs sold in the EU may have additional privacy toggles (GDPR-mandated) that US models lack. TVs sold in Korea may have different AI service integrations.
• The assistant changed: If your TV previously had Google Assistant and you have not updated firmware since May 2025, you may still see Google-branded menus. Update first.

TechJunctions maintains an updated guide that attempts to cover multiple model years if you need model-specific paths.

Can I Physically Disable the Microphone?

The microphone on most LG TVs is in the remote, not in the TV itself. Some higher-end models (particularly those with "hands-free" voice control, like certain G-series and Z-series sets) have a built-in far-field microphone array in the TV panel. If yours does, there should be a physical switch or a dedicated menu toggle to disable it.

For remote-based microphones: simply not pressing the mic button means the mic is not active during normal use. But if you are concerned about software-level activation (a reasonable concern given the terms of service situation), you can remove the batteries from the LG Magic Remote and use a basic IR remote instead. LG TVs ship with a basic remote in some markets, or you can use the LG ThinQ phone app for navigation while keeping the mic-equipped remote in a drawer.

This is an imperfect solution. You lose the pointer functionality and scroll wheel of the Magic Remote. But it is the most definitive way to ensure no microphone hardware is available to the TV's software.

Does Turning Off Voice Stop All Data Collection?

No. Voice is one data stream among several. LG smart TVs also collect:

• ACR data (what you watch, frame by frame) via Live Plus, which is a separate toggle.
• App usage data, which is covered under general analytics.
• Network diagnostics and crash logs, which are standard for any connected device.

Consumer Reports is clear on this point: toggling "Do Not Sell" and disabling voice reduces the surface area, but LG retains collection rights for data it deems necessary for service delivery. The only way to stop all data collection from a smart TV is to disconnect it from the network entirely, at which point it becomes a display panel with an HDMI input and a tuner.

If you want a connected TV with minimal data exposure, using an external streaming device (Apple TV, for example) and keeping the LG TV itself offline is a viable architecture. The TV handles the picture. The external device handles the smarts. You control the external device's privacy settings separately.

The Broader Problem: Privacy as a Multi-Step Chore

The fact that "turn off voice on my TV" requires navigating at least four separate menu locations, deleting stored data manually, revoking per-app permissions individually, and understanding which assistant is currently installed (because it changed twice in eight months) tells you something about incentive structures.

LG sells TVs at thin margins and makes money on ads, data licensing, and platform fees from app developers. Voice data is part of that revenue model. The friction in disabling voice features is not necessarily intentional obfuscation. It may just be the natural result of an organization where every product team adds its own toggles and nobody is incentivized to build a single "leave me alone" button.

But the effect is the same either way. The user who wants privacy has to do the work. The user who does not care (or does not know) generates data by default.

The terms-of-service situation from July 2026 made this particularly stark. A clause requiring you to warn your house guests that their voices may be captured by your television is not a privacy feature. It is consent theater. It transfers legal liability from the company that built the microphone to the person who bought the product.

This is the structural pattern across consumer electronics right now. Privacy is available, but it is positioned as an opt-out rather than a default. Every connected device ships with collection on, and the burden of turning it off falls on the owner, who has to find the right five menus and understand what each toggle actually controls.

A Complete Checklist

Here is everything, in order, for someone who wants all voice and tracking features off on a recent LG TV:

1. Accessibility > Audio Guidance / Voice Guide: Off. (Stops the narrator.)
2. General or Support > AI Service / Voice Recognition: Off. (Disables the assistant.)
3. Support > Privacy & Terms > App Permissions > Microphone: Revoke from all apps.
4. Support > Privacy & Terms > App Permissions > Camera: Revoke from all apps (if your model has a camera or if apps request it).
5. Support > Privacy & Terms > Delete My Personal Information > Delete Voice Information: Delete.
6. Support > Privacy & Terms > Delete My Personal Information > Delete Voice ID: Delete.
7. Support > Privacy & Terms > Delete My Personal Information > Delete Viewing Information: Delete.
8. Support > Privacy & Terms > Live Plus: Off.
9. Support > Privacy & Terms > Viewing Information / Ad Tracking: Off or limited.
10. Support > Privacy & Terms > Do Not Sell My Personal Information: On.

Ten steps. That is the current state of "turn off voice on my TV."

Repeat this process after every major firmware update. LG has been known to reset certain privacy toggles or add new ones with webOS updates. Put a recurring reminder somewhere. Quarterly is reasonable.

What About Other Assistants (Alexa, HomeKit)?

Some LG TVs support Amazon Alexa and Apple AirPlay/HomeKit integration. These are separate from the built-in AI assistant and have their own permission models.

For Alexa: if you linked your LG TV to an Alexa account, disabling the built-in LG assistant does not unlink Alexa. Go to the Alexa app on your phone, find the TV under Devices, and remove it.

For Apple HomeKit/AirPlay: this is a display protocol, not a voice assistant. AirPlay does not give the TV microphone access. But if you enabled HomeKit, the TV communicates with your Home network. You can remove it from the Apple Home app if you want it fully disconnected.

The point: each integration is its own undo. There is no master kill switch.

After You Have Done All of This

Your LG TV is now a quieter, less observant appliance. It still runs webOS. It still phones home for firmware checks and app store content. But it is no longer actively listening, narrating, or building a voice profile of your household.

The cost is that you lose voice search (minor for most people), hands-free control (relevant if you have mobility limitations, in which case keep Voice Guide on and just disable the data-collecting assistant), and whatever "AI recommendations" LG was providing based on your voice and viewing patterns.

For most people, that is a good trade.

If you are thinking about privacy across all your devices and not just your TV, start a free 7-day trial of Selina, no card required.

Michael C.

Founder & Principal Engineer, Selina Labs

Michael builds Selina, a privacy-first AI that remembers you across conversations. He ships security-sensitive AI in production — real attacks, real fixes, measured in minutes and dollars — and writes about privacy, security, and LLMs from that seat. Top Rated Plus and expert-verified on Upwork.

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