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Google Chrome is pushing a 4GB AI model to your device without asking

winjer

winjer

Gold Member
Google Chrome has been silently pushing a 4GB AI model to your device without asking
Google Chrome users who have noticed unusual disk activity or unexplained drops in available storage should look for a folder called "OptGuideOnDeviceModel" inside their Chrome directory. It holds roughly 4GB of weights for Google's Gemini Nano LLM, downloaded by the browser without user consent.
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Deleting the folder offers no lasting relief – Chrome will simply redownload it. On Windows 11, the folder resides at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\OptGuideOnDeviceModel. It has also been confirmed on Apple Silicon and Ubuntu machines.
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Uninstalling Chrome entirely is the most effective way to remove the weights. However, those who wish to continue using the browser might be able to disable the download by entering "chrome://flags" into the address bar, finding an item called "Enables optimization guide on device on Android," and selecting "Disabled" from the adjacent dropdown menu. This is also how users can determine whether their device is eligible for the feature.
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Maybe it's time for Chrome users to consider changing to another browser, such as Brave, Vivaldi or Firefox.
 
Thanks for the heads up man, I had that shit in my system and had no idea.

Opted to disable the flag and it seems to not download it anymore. But yeah I should consider changing my web browser.
 
Google is a fucking spyware. I use an Android phone + Brave + Duckduckgo and I still get Based on your interests shit on my redddit app. The funny thing is, it is sometimes just based on the shit I typed, but never entered. Android tracks your virtual keyboard, so beware. Never had the same happen on my Macbook.
 
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winjer said:
Google Chrome has been silently pushing a 4GB AI model to your device without asking




Maybe it's time for Chrome users to consider changing to another browser, such as Brave, Vivaldi or Firefox.
Click to expand...

Firefox also has AI functionality. It can be turned off of course, but if it's running locally there might be a similar file stored on your PC.

But I consider it small fry compared to this news.



Meta is using AI to create full user profiles of every user on their service.
 
There are too many browsers based on Chromium to not choose an alternative if you're the tiniest bit tech savvy. They will even import your settings, bookmarks, etc.
Magister said:
Google is a fucking spyware. I use an Android phone + Brave + Duckduckgo and I still get Based on your interests shit on my redddit app. The funny thing is, it is sometimes just based on the shit I typed, but never entered. Android tracks your virtual keyboard, so beware. Never had the same happen on my Macbook.
Click to expand...
I hope this is just confirmation bias, but I'm sure there has been testing out there to see what Google keyboard phones home for and with.
 
Disabled the 'feature' and removed the folder (on my work PC).

However, why does Chrome take up so much memory? I only have about 7 tabs open, half of which are Neogaf. :messenger_grinning_sweat:

NL0ld03OSEn2JbaK.png
 
Branded said:
Disabled the 'feature' and removed the folder (on my work PC).

However, why does Chrome take up so much memory? I only have about 7 tabs open, half of which are Neogaf. :messenger_grinning_sweat:

NL0ld03OSEn2JbaK.png
Click to expand...
That's about normal for a Chromium browser in 2026, sadly. You can get those numbers down a bit with Brave which blocks a lot of scripts/ads that eat RAM, but it's almost always above 1GB just to have it open these day.
 
IAmRei said:
i left chrome years ago
but genuine question, will this also really affect all chromium as well?
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No. Seems to affect only Chrome.
Other Chromium browsers can pick and choose what they want to integrate and I haven't seen any other doing this one.
 
IAmRei said:
thanks for clarifying sir
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Mind you, this is the current state. Things can change.
For example, Alphabet pays Firefox to have Google be it's default search engine. Same for Safari.
It might happen that in the future, Alphabet will also pay to have this AI model and all it's connections to Alphabet's services integrated.
 
winjer said:
Mind you, this is the current state. Things can change.
For example, Alphabet pays Firefox to have Google be it's default search engine. Same for Safari.
It might happen that in the future, Alphabet will also pay to have this AI model and all it's connections to Alphabet's services integrated.
Click to expand...
dang ....
 
Remember when everyone switched to Chrome because it was so fast and lean.

Pejo said:
That's about normal for a Chromium browser in 2026, sadly. You can get those numbers down a bit with Brave which blocks a lot of scripts/ads that eat RAM, but it's almost always above 1GB just to have it open these day.
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Vivaldi currently using under 500MB for me.
 
winjer said:
Another option is to use Librewolf.
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That's my preferred choice for PC. I also use Mullvad browser. Android is IronFox and Brave but I don't use stock android, I use Graphene OS.

People think I'm crazy but I do it for the same damn reason I have blinds at my house.
 
I don't have that folder, nor the setting on the google support page, nor the flag that's mentioned to be disabled; maybe it's w11 only? 🤷‍♂️
My w11 machine did have the setting, but not the folder or flag either.
 
kruis said:
Firefox also has AI functionality. It can be turned off of course, but if it's running locally there might be a similar file stored on your PC.

But I consider it small fry compared to this news.



Meta is using AI to create full user profiles of every user on their service.
Click to expand...

It seems like I remember a time companies were not supposed to be collecting data on minors. It might be my imagination,
 
winjer said:
Another option is to use Librewolf.
Click to expand...
People should be a bit careful with Librewolf. It doesn't automatically update itself, and requires a separate .exe to update at all. So inexperienced users could be rolling around with an out of date browser.
 
Jinzo Prime said:
People should be a bit careful with Librewolf. It doesn't automatically update itself, and requires a separate .exe to update at all. So inexperienced users could be rolling around with an out of date browser.
Click to expand...

Just use winget. It installs and updates Librewolf, and many other programs very easily.
I no longer rely on downloading new versions of a program. I just open powershell and run: "winget upgrade --all --include-unknown"
 
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winjer said:
Just use winget. It installs and updates Librewolf, and many other programs very easily.
I no longer rely on downloading new versions of a program. I just open winget and run: "winget upgrade --all --include-unknown"
Click to expand...
Oh, I know, but some people who aren't used command line or very customizable programs wouldn't know that. Like, I would never suggest Librewolf to my mom, but I might suggest Brave.
 
This is unacceptable, you shouldn't be getting any extra downloads besides the original installation of the browser. Unless of course you will be asked and agree to having 'local AI' during the installation.

Hopefully it will push SOME people to trying alternatives (I'm realistic and know that majority don't care and don't control what's happening with their PC's).
 
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I download Gemini LLM's on my own all the time. On their own they're pretty harmless. The real danger is in the apps that use them. I'm not too worried about one from Google sitting in local storage if it has a legitimate purpose, but 4 GB is kind of ridiculous to ask of users, especially if they don't know about it.
 
moogman said:
This seems like a way to turn it off unless it's something different?

Manage on-device Generative AI models in Chrome - Google Chrome Help

To provide an enhanced browser experience, Chrome uses on-device AI models to help power web and browser features. Chrome may download on-device Generative AI models in the background, so features tha
support.google.com support.google.com
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I don't even see that setting on my Chrome. I am on the latest public release Windows build

One of the most annoying things about Google is how different Chromes have different settings visible due to internal A-B testing and gradual rollouts of features even when build numbers are the same
 
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