How to Disable Google’s Gemini in Chrome
If you use Google’s Chrome browser for desktop, there’s a Gemini Nano AI model running on your computer right now and taking up about 4 GB of space. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if you didn’t know about it and don’t want it, there’s a way to turn it off.
What It Means for Makers and Artists
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.
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” 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, too, that the system is designed so Gemini Nano “will automatically uninstall if the device is low on resources.”
Google’s Intentions
Google built the model into Chrome to enable on-device AI scam-detection features and provide 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.
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.”
User Awareness and 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 and Considerations
Local processing is a more private way to utilize AI capabilities. If you remove the model, the features Google uses it for—including the AI-enabled scam detection—will cease to function. But since Gemini Nano is also used by Chrome to enable local AI processing for third-party developers, 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.”
Of course, if neither option seems right, there’s always an alternative: Use a different browser.
Key Takeaways
- The Gemini Nano AI model can be disabled in Chrome by toggling off the “On-device AI” feature in settings.
- Removing the Gemini Nano model could affect security features and interactions with non-Google web services.
- Users may find it challenging to keep up with all granular updates from major browsers like Chrome, leading to missed integrations like Gemini Nano.
Originally published at wired.com. Curated by AI Maestro.
Stay ahead of AI. Get the most important stories delivered to your inbox — no spam, no noise.