Google Chrome Is Downloading a 4GB AI Model Onto Your Device Without Consent, Researcher Warns
Google Chrome Is Downloading a 4GB AI Model Onto Your Device Without Consent, Researcher Warns
Publish Date: 2026-05-06 14:30:00
Source Domain: gizmodo.com
- Security researcher Alexander Hanff reported that Google Chrome has been quietly storing an on-device AI model called Gemini Nano without explicit user consent.
- The stored AI model, which can occupy around 4GB of space, is found in a folder named OptGuideOnDeviceModel, with the main file being weights.bin.
- Google Chrome does not offer any prompt to agree to install themodel nor provides an opt-out or removal option, but it can be manually deleted although it will redownload the next time Chrome restarts.
- Google clarified that this model is used for on-device security features like scam detection and developer APIs, and that a feature to turn off and remove it was introduced in February.
- Although not new, this discovery has caused renewed discussions in various online communities about the presence and management of this AI model.
- Users can check for this AI model by entering “chrome://on-device-internals” in their Chrome browser; they can also opt out via the Chrome settings menu if available.
- Workarounds exist to prevent automatic re-download, such as disabling AI-related features through “chrome://flags” or changing the file permissions of weights.bin.
- Removing the AI model from Chrome may cause some browser functionality to malfunction, and will disable all associated AI-powered features.
