Google Chrome Is Downloading a 4GB AI Model Onto Your Device Without Consent, Researcher Warns [View all]

hat tip to YouTuber BrenTech

This on-device AI model was just added with the latest version of Chrome for Windows and Mac. It is enabled by default. The on/off switch has been added to the Settings->System page.

________________________________________________

Source: Gizmodo

Google Chrome Is Downloading a 4GB AI Model Onto Your Device Without Consent, Researcher Warns

Maybe Google doesn't ask permission because it knows what the answer would be.

By AJ Dellinger
Published May 6, 2026, 2:30 pm ET
Reading time 3 minutes

Even if you aren’t using Google Gemini, it might be using your device. Security researcher Alexander Hanff, also known as “That Privacy Guy,” recently reported that Google’s widely used Chrome web browser is quietly storing an on-device AI model without explicitly asking for user permission.

According to Hanff, Chrome secretly stashes about 4GB of AI model files on Chrome users’ devices (though it should be noted that many users have been unable to find the file). The reported model is stored in a folder called OptGuideOnDeviceModel. The largest part of that folder is a file called weights.bin. Hanff claims that the weights are for Gemini Nano, Google’s lighter-weight, on-device version of its large language model.

Per the researcher’s findings, the Nano model is installed on any device that meets the minimum hardware requirements to host it. Google Chrome reportedly does not offer any prompt for the user to affirmatively agree to install the model, nor is there any setting to opt out or remove the files. If you track down the files yourself by parsing through Chrome’s install library, you can manually delete the model—but Hanff reported that it will automatically be redownloaded the next time you restart Chrome, without any indication that it’s happening. Hanff claims to have independently demonstrated this happening on both Windows and MacOS devices.

Gizmodo asked Google for clarification about the file. A spokesperson for the company explained, “We’ve offered Gemini Nano for Chrome since 2024 as a lightweight, on-device model. It powers important security capabilities like scam detection and developer APIs without sending your data to the cloud. While this requires some local space on the desktop to run, the model will automatically uninstall if the device is low on resources. In February, we began rolling out the ability for users to easily turn off and remove the model directly in Chrome settings. Once disabled, the model will no longer download or update.”

-snip-

Read more: https://gizmodo.com/google-chrome-is-downloading-a-4gb-ai-model-onto-your-device-without-consent-researcher-warns-2000755201