How to Disable Google’s Gemini in Chrome
If you use Google’s Chrome browser for desktop, there’s a hidden AI model running on your computer right now and taking up about 4 GB of space. This is not 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.
The file started auto-downloading for Chrome users in February 2024 after Google built 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
- 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 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 It Means for Makers and Artists
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,'” said Parisa Tabriz, Chrome’s general manager in a post on X on Wednesday.
Considerations
- Local processing is a more private way to utilize AI capabilities. If you remove the model, the features Google uses it for—such as the AI-enabled scam detection—will cease to function.
- 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 model is running on your computer and taking up about 4 GB of space.
- You can turn off the On-device AI feature in Chrome to remove the Gemini Nano file.
- This feature was initially designed for security capabilities but may have privacy implications when removed.
- Using a different browser might be an alternative if neither option seems right.
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.