A computer scientist found out that Google Chrome has been quietly downloading a huge file onto users’s computers.
Alexander Hanff, also known as That Privacy Guy, recently spotted that the browser is quietly downloading a massive AI model without notice or permission. We are talking about a hefty 4GB file named weights.bin, which is part of the Gemini Nano system for on-device AI. If your machine meets the hardware requirements, Chrome just goes ahead and grabs it in the background, making an unauthorised dent in your storage.
Hanff points out that there is no obvious prompt asking for your permission to store several gigabytes of data locally, nor is there an easy toggle in the main settings to stop it from happening.
If you are not keen on Chrome deciding how to use your storage, your options are currently a bit limited. You will need to dive into the chrome://flags menu to disable the AI features manually, or if you are part of a larger organisation, you might be able to block it through enterprise policies.
Of course, there is always the nuclear option of uninstalling the browser entirely if you want to be certain nothing is being downloaded behind your back.