After reading the replies here, I tried disabling the Google app.

This killed the "define" shortcut on word selection and seems(?) to have had no other bad effects. (My home screen search was already using something else.)

This is weird. If the Google app is doing this, that implies it must have some kind of special permission, to add an item to the selection menu globally. Why did I not find it under permissions? Shouldn't I have been able to turn that permisson off without disabling the app?

Just had a terrifying experience

So last month, in hopes it would remove an AI-based "Define" feature from my Android phone, I disabled the "Google" app. This didn't work; a month later the app seemingly re-enabled itself and the "Define" started reappearing.

The thing that worried me was that if I disabled the Google app I would get locked out of my Google account, because of a mandatory 2FA-like feature Google forces if you use Android.

Today I got locked out of my Google account.

Today I had a *very* urgent need to sign in to gmail on a particular old laptop. It said it was activating the pseudo-2FA feature and I had to tap OK on my Android phone. There was no notification on my Android phone. I spent about 10 minutes scouring my phone, clicking "resend", checking in various apps, checking all the permissions.

Eventually, it appeared.

I have no idea what just happened!

Did this happen because the Google app was temporarily disabled last month? Or did Google, of all people, somehow fail at notification delivery, and the Google app disable was a coincidence?

I have always hated this feature. The fact Google enables it without telling you makes it seem plausible you could accidentally associate a Google account with an Android phone which is not your own and which you do not have access to. But I've never seen the feature to malfunction like this.