How to Disable Google’s Gemini in Chrome
If you use Google’s Chrome browser for desktop, there’s a good chance that a Gemini Nano AI model is running on your computer right now and taking up about 4 GB of space. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if you didn’t know about it and don’t want it, there’s a way to turn it off.
The file started auto-downloading for Chrome users in 2024 after Google integrated Gemini Nano into the browser. However, a report by that Privacy Guy this week and the ensuing reception highlighted how unaware many users were—perhaps a result of a flood of AI services and features across the tech industry that have been difficult for users to keep up with.
How to Uninstall Gemini Nano
To uninstall the Gemini Nano file, open Chrome on your computer. In the top right corner click the “More” menu represented by three vertical dots, then go to Settings, System, and finally toggle “On-device AI” to be off. The Privacy Guy article noted that if you directly uninstall the Gemini Nano file in the directory, Chrome will silently, automatically redownload it the next time the browser reboots.
A Google spokesperson tells WIRED that the company started rolling out the On-device AI toggle in February so users can turn off the features if they choose and remove the model. “Once disabled, the model will no longer download or update,” the spokesperson says in a statement. The company added that the system is designed so Gemini Nano “will automatically uninstall if the device is low on resources.”
What Google Built with Gemini Nano
Google built the model into Chrome to enable on-device AI scam-detection features. It was also aimed at providing a way for developers 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.
“Integrating Gemini Nano powers important security capabilities like on-device scam detection and developer APIs without sending your data to the cloud,” emphasized Chrome’s general manager Parisa Tabriz in a post on X on Wednesday.
Users’ Concerns
Google certainly did announce the Gemini Nano integration into Chrome and discussed it publicly, 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 says that he follows Chrome updates closely but could have easily missed the Gemini Nano integration. “An on-device model could be a hidden minefield,” he says. And the fact that Google launched the integration in 2024 but didn’t start rolling out a settings control for users to turn it off until February shows that, at least initially, the feature wasn’t conceived as something that users would interact with.
Alternatives
Google’s On-device AI toggle allows users to disable Gemini Nano if they choose. However, doing so could have consequences for interacting with non-Google web services in the browser. A Google spokesperson tells WIRED that turning off On-device AI “will result in certain security features not being available and sites using on device APIs behaving differently.”
Of course, if neither option seems right, there’s always an alternative: Use a different browser.
Key Takeaways
- The Gemini Nano AI model runs on your computer in Chrome and takes up about 4 GB of space.
- Users can turn off the On-device AI feature to remove the Gemini Nano file, but this could have consequences for interacting with non-Google web services.
- Google’s initial rollout of the On-device AI toggle showed that users might not be aware of its existence and potential implications.
Originally published at wired.com. Curated by AI Maestro.
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