To limit what an AI assistant can do in your smart home, restrict access at the account, household-member and connected-app levels first. Then add safeguards for sensitive actions, review voice and child settings, and check every app or platform that can control the same devices. These controls do different jobs: Voice Match or history settings do not replace device permissions.
The concrete settings below are for Google Home and Google’s assistant services; options and labels vary by platform, account and region. For another ecosystem, use the same access-control checklist, but confirm its own documented controls rather than assuming Google’s safeguards apply.
Start by mapping every way a device can be controlled
Before changing permissions, identify the assistant, home app, account, device and region involved. A single lock, camera or light may appear in several apps or be reachable through an automation as well as a voice assistant. Removing access in one place may leave another control path intact.
- List the people who can manage the home and the permissions each person has.
- Review connected third-party apps and the device types each is allowed to access.
- Check other certified platforms, hubs and automations that can reach the same device.
- Distinguish in-home control from remote control, which may take a different route.
Give household members only the access they need
In Google Home, an Admin has broad authority, including the ability to add or remove people, devices and services and manage wider home settings. A Member cannot add or remove people or share devices and data with partner services. Admins can also control whether a member has Settings and Activity permissions. Google’s household role and permission documentation explains the available access.
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What the Settings and Activity permissions do
- Settings: lets a member access devices—including devices added later—manage device settings and manage home settings. Without this permission, a member still has limited control of devices and services.
- Activity: grants access to histories. Consider this separately from the ability to control devices.
To adjust a member’s access, open Google Home, go to the home’s settings, select the person, and review their access permissions. Menu labels can change, so use the current permissions screen in your account. Before removing Settings or Activity access, consider what the person needs to manage or review day to day.
Review connected apps and their device access
A third-party app connected to Google Home is a separate route to home data and devices. A home manager can grant or revoke an app’s access to members and selected device types. Review each app’s access and privacy policy, and remove grants that are no longer needed. Google describes these controls in its linked-app access documentation.
Google says apps can request only device types for which they have approval. Sensitive device types, such as locks, require app certification before a third-party app can request access. That is a Google-specific requirement; it does not establish that every platform applies the same rule.
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Add extra verification for actions that reduce security
Check whether your assistant or connected app asks for a second confirmation before an action such as unlocking a door, turning off a camera or disabling a security system. Google’s developer policy requires partners to enable secondary user verification for operations that change a device to a non-secure or disabled state. Its examples include unlocking a door, turning off a camera, disabling a security system and opening a device that may present a safety concern. See the Google Home Developer Policies Overview.
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This is a requirement for Google partners, not proof that every assistant, app or device implements an equivalent safeguard. Check the behavior and documentation for the integration you actually use.
Keep voice identity, activation and content filters in perspective
Voice-related settings can help tailor experiences or reduce unwanted activation, but they are not the same as device authorization. Google describes Voice Match and activation sensitivity for Assistant in its Assistant privacy information. Google’s current Gemini for Home privacy information is documented separately. Do not assume a setting in one assistant product maps exactly to another.
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Guests and people who are not recognized
Google says Gemini for Home devices are designed to wait for activation, but accidental activations can occur. People physically present—including unidentified guests—may interact with devices, and requests are processed to provide the service. Voice recognition should therefore not be treated as a guarantee that only recognized household members can issue commands. See the Gemini for Home Privacy Hub.
Children and filters
Google documents filters for sensitive topics for guests or everyone, and says voice-matched children under 18 receive filtered responses. These filters apply to responses; they are not a universal guarantee that a child cannot control devices. Review the available household settings, but use device permissions and action confirmations—not content filters alone—to limit control.
Decide what activity history to retain
Google says Home History can be turned off or adjusted, and activity can be reviewed or deleted. Its Gemini for Home documentation also says some activity may still be kept for up to 24 hours when Home History is off, to provide the service, maintain safety and security, and process feedback. Turning off history is not the same as turning off the assistant. Details are in the Gemini for Home Privacy Hub.
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Check local, remote and multi-platform control
Matter describes interoperability and control mechanisms; it does not inherently prevent an assistant from accessing a device. Google says Matter commands issued from within the home are carried out locally over Wi-Fi or Thread. When you control a device while away, the request uses cloud service and the Google Home hub to check authorization before the hub sends the command locally. Google explains these paths in its Matter control documentation.
Matter multi-admin can make a device available through more than one certified platform. If you use it, check the permissions, linked apps and automations in every platform with access—not just the assistant you use most often.
Verify the changes without risking an unintended action
- In each home app, inspect the people, roles and permissions that apply to the home.
- Review linked apps, their selected device types and the members they can access; revoke grants that are unnecessary.
- Check the safeguards documented for high-consequence actions in the assistant and integration you use.
- Review voice, child, guest and history settings as separate privacy or experience controls.
- Check every platform, hub and automation that can still reach the device, including Matter-linked platforms.
- After changing settings, use only harmless commands to confirm expected behavior and inspect the permission screens. Do not test by unlocking a door, disabling security or otherwise making a device less secure.
A permission screen or harmless test can confirm the controls visible in your account, but it cannot establish that every possible route to a device has been removed. The result depends on the specific platform, account and integrations in use.
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