How to Disable Google’s Gemini in Chrome
If you use Google’s Chrome browser on your desktop, there might be a small AI model running on your computer called Gemini Nano. This model started downloading for Chrome users in 2024 after Google integrated it into the browser and takes up about 4 GB of space. While this isn’t necessarily harmful, if you didn’t know about it and don’t want it, there’s a way to turn it off.
A report by That Privacy Guy earlier highlighted how many users were unaware of Gemini Nano due to the proliferation of AI services and features across the tech industry that have made it difficult for users to keep up. To uninstall the Gemini Nano file, 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” off.
The Privacy Guy article noted that if you directly uninstall the Gemini Nano file from its directory, Chrome will silently redownload it the next time the browser reboots. Google’s spokesperson confirmed that users can now turn off these features by disabling the On-device AI toggle in Settings. Once disabled, the model won’t download or update, and if your device is low on resources, the system will automatically uninstall it.
What It Means for Makers and Artists
The Gemini Nano integration into Chrome was aimed at enabling on-device AI scam-detection features. By integrating this model, developers can 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 doesn’t use the local Gemini Nano model.
Parisa Tabriz, Chrome’s general manager, emphasized in a post on X that integrating Gemini Nano “powers important security capabilities like on-device scam detection and developer APIs without sending your data to the cloud.”
However, for users who simply use Chrome because it is the world’s biggest and 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 their 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,” Ottenheimer said. “Google launched the integration in 2024 but didn’t start rolling out a settings control for users to turn it off until February, showing that, at least initially, the feature wasn’t conceived as something that users would interact with.”
Removing Gemini Nano from Chrome doesn’t mean you should or necessarily shouldn’t. Local processing is a more private way to utilize AI capabilities. If you remove the model, the features Google uses it for—including AI-enabled scam detection—will cease to function. However, since Gemini Nano is also used by Chrome to enable local AI processing for third-party developers, blocking this route could have various outcomes when interacting with non-Google web services in the browser.
Google’s spokesperson confirmed 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.”
If neither option seems right, there is always an alternative: Use a different browser.
Key Takeaways
- The Gemini Nano model can take up to 4 GB of space and was integrated into Chrome in 2024 for on-device AI scam-detection features.
- Users can turn off On-device AI in Chrome by toggling it off in Settings, which will prevent the model from downloading or updating.
- Removing Gemini Nano from Chrome may have various outcomes when interacting with non-Google web services due to its use for local AI processing.
Originally published at wired.com. Curated by AI Maestro.
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