Google has responded to criticism that Chrome automatically downloads a massive AI model to users’ devices. In addition to the fact that the process takes place without permission, there were concerns about privacy and data collection, but the company denied them in a comment to Android Authority.
Recently, users have noticed that Chrome is downloading a file called weights.bin, which is about 4 GB in size, to the OptGuideOnDeviceModel folder on their devices – effectively without permission, warning, or the ability to opt out. Moreover, if the file was deleted, the browser could download it again (also without warning) and in order to stop the process permanently, the corresponding function had to be disabled manually via chrome://flags or through corporate policies.
Later, the researchers discovered that the file was used to run some of Gemini Nano’ s AI functions, which was confirmed by Google in its commentary.
“We’ve offered Gemini Nano for Chrome since 2024 as a lightweight, on-device model. It powers important security capabilities like scam detection and developer APIs without sending your data to the cloud,” a Google spokesperson said.
The company acknowledged that the model takes up “a certain amount of memory on the PC”, but clarified that the file is automatically deleted if the device lacks resources. In addition, since February, Google has allegedly been offering the possibility of “easily disabling” downloads manually.
“In February, we began rolling out the ability for users to easily turn off and remove the model directly in Chrome settings. Once disabled the model will no longer download or update.”
The company referred to the Chrome Help Centre page on managing AI models on the device, which allegedly has all the necessary instructions. At the same time, Google did not specify why it did not properly notify users about the download and the possibility of uninstallation. In reality, the company could have obtained permission from users during the installation of the browser – when we agreed to download the files necessary for its functioning.
You can check whether the local AI model is installed on your device by going to chrome://on-device-internals in the Chrome address bar, where the Model Status tab will display the model version, installation path, and exact folder size. Earlier, Android Authority offered its own instructions for completely deleting a file without the possibility of re-downloading it. To do this, you need to first disable the corresponding Chrome features and then delete the files.
Disable Chrome Flags
- Open Google Chrome and enter chrome://flags in the address bar;
- In the search box above, type optimisation-guide-on-device-model;
- For the #optimization-guide-on-device-model option, select Disabled from the drop-down menu on the right;
- Similarly, find and disable: #prompt-api-for-gemini-nano;
- Click the Relaunch button to restart Chrome.
This will prevent the browser from reloading the AI model after it has been deleted.
Delete a folder (Windows)
- Press Win + R;
- Paste: %LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser Data and press Enter;
- Open the Default folder (or your profile folder);
- Locate the OptGuideOnDeviceModel folder and delete it.
Delete a folder (macOS)
- Open the Finder;
- Press Cmd + Shift + G;
- Paste:~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/;
- Locate the OptGuideOnDeviceModel folder and move it to the trash.
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