Chrome’s AI features may take up to 4GB of your computer’s storage space

Google Chrome may be consuming more storage space than expected thanks to a large AI model file on the device that, in some cases, is automatically downloaded to the browser’s system folders. Users who notice an unexplained decrease in their available desktop storage are discovering that Chrome installs a 4GB weights file inside their browser directory when certain AI features are enabled.

The weights.bin file in question is attached to it Google Gemini Nano AI modelwhich powers Chrome AI tools like fraud detection, typing assistance, autofill, and suggestion features. Because the Gemini Nano model is designed to run locally, it needs to use training parameters stored on your device rather than pulling information from cloud-based models. This provides some privacy benefits, but it’s not ideal if you’re low on storage space — especially since users aren’t clearly informed about file size requirements.

If you’ve enabled some Gemini AI features on Chrome, it’s possible that the 4GB file has already been downloaded to your system. You can check by opening Chrome’s data folders and examining the OptGuideOnDeviceModel directory of the weights.bin file.

You can’t simply delete this to free up space, however, if you still have AI features enabled, Chrome may re-download it again in the future. This means you’ll need to head to Settings > System then Turn off the On-Device AI option To remove those features and prevent the file from coming back.

Google specifies that “the exact size of the Gemini Nano may vary as the browser updates the model,” but this information is provided in A long guide to embedded artificial intelligence Features and not at the point of enabling them in Chrome. If Google had made the storage requirements clearer to users — or provided an option to run Chrome AI features with cloud-based models — this confusion could have been avoided. We’ve reached out to Google for comment.