How to Disable Google’s Gemini in Chrome
If you use Google’s Chrome browser for desktop, there’s a likely AI model running on your computer known as Gemini Nano. This model started auto-downloading for Chrome users after Google integrated it into the browser and takes up about 4 GB of space.
The file is not necessarily bad, but if you didn’t know about it and don’t want it, there’s a way to turn it off. To do this, open Chrome on your computer, click the “More” menu represented by three vertical dots in the top right corner, then go to Settings, System, and toggle “On-device AI” to be off.
The Privacy Guy report highlighted how many users were unaware of Gemini Nano’s presence. This lack of awareness could be a result of the tech industry’s flood of AI services and features that have made it difficult for users to stay informed. If you directly uninstall the Gemini Nano file from its directory, Chrome will silently redownload it when the browser reboots.
To remove the model, Google suggests using a settings control. The company started rolling out the On-device AI toggle in February so users can turn off features like Gemini Nano if they choose and remove the model. Once disabled, the model will no longer download or update, according to a statement from a Google spokesperson.
The system is designed so that Gemini Nano “will automatically uninstall if the device is low on resources,” said the spokesperson. Google built Gemini Nano into Chrome to enable on-device AI scam-detection features and provide developers with a way to integrate AI-related application programming interfaces while keeping data on users’ devices when possible and out of the cloud.
These features are separate from Chrome’s AI Mode, which does not use the local Gemini Nano model. In a post on X, Chrome’s general manager Parisa Tabriz emphasized that integrating Gemini Nano “powers important security capabilities like on-device scam detection and developer APIs without sending your data to the cloud.”
Why Turn Off On-Device AI?
Google certainly announced the integration of Gemini Nano into Chrome, but for users who simply use Chrome because it is the world’s biggest, most recognizable browser and don’t necessarily follow every granular update, the lack of an in-your-face notification about a large AI model file sitting and running on your computer may be upsetting. Longtime security and compliance consultant Davi Ottenheimer noted that he follows Chrome updates closely but could have easily missed the Gemini Nano integration.
On-device processing is more private, as removing the model will make features like AI-enabled scam detection cease to function. However, blocking this route could have a range of outcomes when interacting with non-Google web services in the browser. A Google spokesperson tells WIRED that if you turn off On-device AI, “certain security features will not be available, and sites that use the on device APIs will behave differently.”
Conclusion
- To disable Gemini Nano, toggle “On-device AI” to off in Chrome’s settings.
- Directly uninstalling the model from its directory may cause it to be redownloaded automatically upon reboot.
- Local processing is more private but could have unwanted outcomes when interacting with non-Google web services.
Originally published at wired.com. Curated by AI Maestro.
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