You’ll Now Be Forced to Talk to Your Google Home Mini Out of Security

Max Buondonno October 12, 2017

Before the device can even ship, Google is rolling out a software update to the Google Home Mini that fixes a critical security bug found by Android Police. Apparently, with the limited amount of units in the hands of reviewers and gift receivers at events, some users have been reporting the Home Mini is constantly recording them. This is due to the feature that lets you talk to the device by tapping the top of it with your finger malfunctioning and continuously registering touch inputs. Google now says the software update in question will permanently disable this feature.

We’ve decided to permanently remove all top touch functionality on Google Home Mini. We made this decision to avoid any confusion and give you complete peace of mind while using your Mini. The update will be completely rolled out by end of day October 15, 2017.

Now, if you want to talk to your Home Mini, you’ll need to use the “Okay, Google” or “Hey Google’ hotwords. This shouldn’t be an issue to many as users normally just use their voice anyway, but it’s still interesting to watch a feature die off before it can even be used by general consumers.

Google says that while activating the Assistant with a touch on the Home Mini is gone, volume controls on the top of the device have gone nowhere. Additionally, any queries recorded by the Google Home Mni between October 4 and 7 have been deleted to safeguard user’s privacy.