If You’re Using Google Chrome, Your Device May Be Secretly Downloading a 4GB AI Model

Google Chrome may take more storage area on your device. Based on reports earlier this month, the browser was automatically downloading the 4GB AI model to other users’ hard drives without their permission. It’s not the first time Google has gotten creative disrupted on users’ devicesand privacy advocates say this practice may violate data protection laws.

The mystery file in question is Gemini Nano, an AI model that runs on devices like smartphones and laptops instead of the cloud. According to Alexander Hanff, a Swedish computer scientist and lawyer known as That Privacy Guy, it is installed in some Chrome browsers without permission. You never know when it has been downloaded back to your device.

Hanff said the Gemini Nano will only be installed if the device meets the hardware requirements. It is still unknown how many people have received coverage.

Gemini Nano performs tasks such as detecting scam phone calls, helping you write text messages, extracting recordings and analyzing screenshots of a Pixel phone. Not to be confused with AI mode pill in the address bar. When you use AI Mode, your questions are forwarded to the Google Gemini servers, not to the Gemini Nano.

A Google spokesperson told CNET that the Gemini Nano will automatically boot if the device does not have enough resources, such as processing power, RAM memory, storage space or network bandwidth.

“In February, we began rolling out the ability for users to easily disable and remove a model directly from Chrome’s settings,” a spokesperson said. “If disabled, the model will no longer download or update.”

Google provides more information about generative AI models in Chrome on this web page.

How to remove an AI model

If you want to remove the 4GB AI model from your device, first check if it is installed.

Hanff said Chrome users wouldn’t know they had a Gemini Nano unless they searched for it, because “Chrome didn’t ask” and “Chrome doesn’t show up.”

The easiest way to remove Gemini Nano from your device is to uninstall Chrome.

On a Mac

1. If you’re using a Mac, open Finder by clicking the blue smiley face icon on the far left of the dock.
2. Then, click Go away on the top menu bar and hold the Option key to The library appears in the drop-down menu.
3. Click The libraryand navigate to Program Support > Google > Chrome > Defaults. See if there is a folder called OptGuideOnDeviceModel. If the folder exists and contains a file named weights.bin, the AI ​​model was installed.
4. To permanently remove it from your Mac, open Chrome and click the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner. Then click Settingsthen The program and open On device AI.

On a Windows device

If you are using a Windows device, there are several ways to check if Gemini Nano is installed.

1. Another way is to use the Run Command. Press the button Windows key once Rpaste in %LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser DataOptGuideOnDeviceModel and press Come in. If that file appears, check if weights.bin is there.
2. You can also use File Explorer to check if the AI ​​model is installed. Navigate to C:Users[YourUsername]AppDataLocalGoogleChromeUser DataOptGuideOnDeviceModel and look for weights.bin.
3. To run the AI ​​model on Windows, open Chrome, navigate to Settings > Systemand change the closing On the AI ​​device. While in Chrome, type chrome://flags in the address bar and search for the Development Guide. Then, set the Upgrade Guide for the device It is disabled.
4. Then restart Chrome by closing it completely, using the menu to exit, not just closing windows.
5. Finally, delete the local files by navigating to AppDataLocalGoogleChromeUser Data and delete the OptGuideOnDeviceModel folder.

Watch this: Google I/O 2026: New Gemini, Smart Glasses and Whole New Laptop OS. Here’s What to Expect

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Why does it matter?

Hanff said the push may be aimed at helping Google cut costs by moving AI work off its servers and onto your computer.

“Using users’ hardware allows them to push ‘AI features’ without computational overhead,” Hanff told CNET.

But Hanff suggested there could be legal consequences, at least in Europe. He suggested that the inclusion of the Gemini Nano could create a breach of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation principles of lawfulness, impartiality and transparency. Hanff said that, given the potential environmental impacts, Google should have declared it under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

“Google has given us every reason to distrust them with a two-decade history of massive global privacy breaches,” Hanff told CNET. “So, I suspect they felt that asking for permission (required by law) would interfere with their ability to push this model, and, whatever comes after it.”