Google has been quietly installing a 4GB AI model called Gemini Nano onto some Chrome browsers without notifying users. Computer scientist Alexander Hanff raised the issue after discovering the file on his devices. The company says the model supports on-device features like scam detection and has provided ways to disable it.
Alexander Hanff, known as That Privacy Guy, reported that Chrome downloads the Gemini Nano model automatically if a device meets hardware requirements. The file appears as weights.bin inside a folder named OptGuideOnDeviceModel. Hanff verified the behavior on both macOS and Windows systems, noting that the file can reappear after deletion unless users take specific steps to stop it.
