Google is introducing a new ‘Guest Mode’ for its smart speakers and smart displays.

“We’re introducing Guest Mode, another easy way to control your privacy on smart speakers and Smart Displays, like Nest Audio and Nest Hub Max. Just say, “Hey Google, turn on Guest Mode,” and your Google Assistant interactions will not be saved to your account,” Google said in a blog post.

Users can access a range of features while in Guest Mode such as asking questions, controlling smart home devices, setting timers and playing music. However, their device will not show personal results such as their calendar entries or contacts, until they turn the mode off.

Once a user turns off the Guest Mode, the device will play a special chime and see a guest icon on the display.

Users can ensure that they have the Guest Mode turned on or off by asking their device, “Is Guest Mode on?” Guest Mode will stay on until a user chooses to turn it off.

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They can turn off the Guest Mode by saying, “Hey Google, turn off Guest Mode” to return to the full, personalised Google Assistant experience.

Guest Mode works well when a user doesn’t want the interactions to show up in the history or want the interactions saved, for instance, when there are guests over.

However, it is good to note that when a user uses the Assistant in Guest Mode to interact with other apps and services, like Google Maps, YouTube or media and smart home services, those apps may still save that activity.

Google Home device owners, for whom the feature is available, can try Guest Mode on Google Nest speakers and displays in English. The tech giant will be bringing it to more languages and devices in the next few months, it said. For more information, users can ask, “Hey Google, tell me about Guest Mode” to the Google speaker or smart display.

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