Google Chrome may have installed an AI model on your device without your knowledge

You probably didn’t ask for an AI model on your computer, but you probably got it anyway. Google Chrome installs the 4GB model on devices without asking or informing users.

Google installed Gemini Nano – an artificial intelligence model that runs on devices such as smartphones and laptops rather than the cloud – on some people’s Chrome browsers, without their permission, according to the British newspaper “Daily Mail”. Alexander Hanffa Swedish computer scientist and lawyer known as the “Privacy Guy.” Google doesn’t tell you it’s on your device after you install it.

Gemini Nano will only be installed if a person’s device meets the hardware requirements, Hanf said. It is not known how many people received the installation.

Gemini Nano It performs tasks like detecting fraudulent phone calls, helping you write text messages, summarizing recordings, and analyzing Pixel screenshots. Not to be confused with the AI ​​Mode dial found in the address bar. If you use AI mode, your queries will be directed to Google’s Gemini servers – not to the Gemini Nano.

A Google spokesperson told CNET that the Gemini Nano will automatically uninstall if the device doesn’t have enough resources, such as processing power, RAM, storage space, or network bandwidth.

“In February, we began rolling out the ability for users to easily turn off and remove the form directly in Chrome settings,” the spokesperson said. “Once disabled, the form will not be downloaded or updated.”

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

If you use Chrome, you may have Gemini Nano. Go to your file manager — “File Explorer” for Windows, “Files” for Chromebooks, and “Finder” for Macs — and look for a folder called “OptGuideOnDeviceModel.” In this folder, there will be a file called “weights.bin”, which is where the Gemini Nano lives.

Chrome users won’t know they have Gemini Nano unless they look for it, because “Chrome didn’t ask” and “Chrome doesn’t show it,” Hanf said.

If you want to get rid of Gemini Nano, there are two ways. The first is to completely uninstall Chrome. The other way is to type “chrome://flags” in your browser’s address bar, then search for “Enables Optimization Guide on Device” and turn it off.

Why does it matter?

Hanf said the push may be aimed at helping Google cut costs by moving its AI work from its own servers to your computer.

“Running inference on users’ own devices allows them to push AI features without computational costs,” Hanf told CNET.

But Hanf noted that there could be legal repercussions, at least in Europe. He noted that the installation of Gemini Nano could constitute a violation of the principles of legality, fairness and transparency of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. Hanff said that, given the potential environmental impacts, Google should have made the announcement under its corporate sustainability reporting guidelines.

“Google has given us every reason not to trust it, given its two-decade history of widespread global privacy violations,” Hanf told CNET. “So, I suspect they thought that asking for permission (what the law requires) would hinder their ability to push that model, and of course everything that comes after it.”