Chrome Quietly Installs 4GB AI Model, Drawing GDPR Scrutiny
- Google Chrome is silently installing a roughly 4 GB Gemini Nano AI model on user devices without requesting permission, with the file downloading automatically once hardware requirements are met.
- Privacy professional Alexander Hanff discovered this behavior using filesystem event logs, documenting that Chrome ignores user deletion attempts by treating them as a transient state to be corrected.
- Users can locate the file in a folder called 'OptGuideOnDeviceModel' or disable the download by searching 'Enables optimization guide on device' within 'chrome://flags.'
- Tech journalist Rachit Agarwal stated Google should require user confirmation for downloads, while Hanff warned the automatic installation carries an overarching climate impact due to widespread deployment.
- Google Chrome faces heat from a new wave of AI browsers including Perplexity Comet and Dia. To stay relevant, Google is adding AI features to Chrome, though critics argue this approach has taken a step too far.
67 Articles
67 Articles
Google using Chrome to install AI files without permission
Hey guys, that four gigabytes of artificial intelligence model you didn't ask? Good news! It's finished downloading onto your computer. Unwanted data-sucking software: it's just another way that Google is watching out for you, ensuring that—oh. You don't want an AI dumped on your system without your permission, and you think Google damn well knows better? — Read the rest The post Google using Chrome to install AI files without permission appeare…
Chrome's AI features can cause a 4GB file to be automatically downloaded to some machines. Google has already acknowledged the use of the Gemini Nano model running in the background, which raises privacy and storage issues.
You may not have asked for an artificial intelligence model on your computer, but you may have gotten it anyway. Google Chrome has installed a 4GB model on devices without asking or notifying users, reports Telegraph. Google has installed Gemini Nano — an artificial intelligence model that runs on devices like smartphones and laptops instead of running in the cloud — on some people’s Chrome browsers without their permission, according to Alexand…
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