Google Chrome silently installs 4 GB Gemini Nano AI model

Fatman VS The Night233

I'm so glad Firefox decided to implement, at users' insistence, a "turn off all AI bullshit" killswitch If it ever scraps it, I'll just get a web browser that works through a Linux terminal or something

Alioth Fox (next con: FWA)120

The irony of this blogger unabashedly using an AI image as the header for this blog post.

Flynn85

If you live in California, this is a violation of the California Consumer Protection Act. The very act of reinstalling it after it's been deleted is covered under the Dark Acts provision. You can file a complaint here. cppa.ca.gov/webapplicati...

maryhoag.bsky.social66

I am mad my device permitted this without approval.

Fox Paws61

Stop using chrome. Straight up just download a fork of it or firefox. Preferably waterfox.

Dave M. 🇨🇦⚜️43

Okay that should be illegal

bjkeefe864743

If anyone reading this thread uses Chrome, this, via @draglikepull.bsky.social, seems very helpful: www.tomsguide.com/ai/check-you...

i-smaelg.bsky.social43

the re-download part is the real issue. if users delete it, Chrome reinstalls it automatically—that removes any pretense of choice. "we're putting this on your machine" becomes "we control this space on your machine." that's a design decision, not a bug.

Jack of The Shadows26

These idiots really never think about enterprise environments which is where all their money comes from? This is literally malware. What are they using to bypass installs restrictions?

Ackart22

lmao the article thumbnail (and let’s be real, the article itself most likely) is AI generated Clown website.

Plenary Dough Boi17

Eek! The automatic re-installation is malware behavior. At 4GB, bloatware too. I switch between Vivaldi and Safari, but since Apple is AI-pilled, it’s fair to assume they’ll be moving in the same direction as Chrome for Safari, so I think I’ll wanna transfer my bookmarks and adopt Vivaldi 100%.

🐦‍⬛®AV☰N🏴‍☠️🌌16

Implications for thin clients used in environments where that space really isn't there and those devices absolutely NEED to work consistently. Healthcare, flight, infrastructure.

Xydexx Unicorn 🦄💕🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈14

Making a note to check and see if this is this is the thing that's filling up all the space on my C: drive no matter how much stuff I delete.

johnfracisco.bsky.social13

I remember when everyone lost it when Apple pushed a free U2 album to all devices.

Jón Frímann13

This is the setting that might disable this. It might not work, because Google.

Craig Ganzer12

Google dumping its "don't be evil" motto was a pretty clear sign

Lasagnaless12

This sounds like something a lot of people could sue over.

AmjerAjaxTheDerg11

Okay, fuck this, anyone know of a second web browser to export all chrome stuff to? I like to use firefox for other stuff

Tek11

Lol who tf is still using chrome?

wolscott9

why is the header art for this article an AI generated image?

Bastion Aralus8

How can I destroy the ai

Megan Goodwin7

if y'all need to use Chrome for work shit like I do, here's how I deleted the file on my macbook bsky.app/profile/mpgp...

The Raccoon Overlord7

It feels like every day Google puts some fucked up shit somewhere I don't want it. I know I can't get away from AI but I'm getting close to switching to apple just because I'm so pissed off.

Mew7

Tapping the sign, Google. m.youtube.com/watch?v=oQbe...

Jeffrey Harlan6

Glad I use LibreWolf (a privacy-focused fork of Firefox) and Ungoogled Chromium (for those sites that don't play nice with Firefox browsers)

Robin Wilton 🇱🇧6

This is weird, because there I was thinking that the Computer Misuse Act 1990 explicitly made this illegal.

voiceless.bsky.social6

"Don't be evil" was a farce from the start.

Candace Robb6

"At Chrome's scale, the climate bill for one model push, paid in atmospheric CO2 by the entire planet, is between six thousand and sixty thousand tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions, depending on how many devices receive the push."

1down5up.bsky.social6

how he fuck is that going to work?? just because its a small model doesnt mean it doesnt need compute.... you thought chrome was a resource hog now?? this is going to be pegging your cpu non-stop on lower end hardware..... #phrasing #isaidwhatisaid

Lindblut 🐉🩸6

How is this NOT ciminal?? It's like entering your house without permission, taking food out of your fridge and then shitting on the table, on top of it all!

Pyperkub5

The Weyland-Yutani Corporation is at it again...

The Frankenmuppet🇨🇦5

I was wondering why Gemini was back in my devices.... I have a tablet playing lore videos all night and Gemini keeps unlocking itself and screaming at me in the middle of the night Guess I'll just have to delete Chrome because fuck that, nobody wants an AI that wakes you up at 3AM for no reason

Just Howlin' not Wolf5

Sounds like a class action lawsuit waiting to happen.

Rainne4

🤔 Perhaps a workaround is to close Chrome, delete the AI file, then create a new file by the same filename and use administrator privileges to remove Modify permissions from that file for whatever user Chrome runs as.

Alan Williamson3

this is wild - I just checked, and sure enough, there is 4GB file sitting there.

Skeets Foryou3

I know I’ll get hate mail but folks, Safari is good and very good if you like your battery.

Katie, little lady in the streets/old sardine tin for sleeps3

Questions from a dum dum: I switched to floorp about a year ago (how do folks feel about floorp these days?) and every once in a while I need to switch to chrome for stuff like logging into government websites or healthcare provider video call apps. What do I use instead of chrome for that stuff?

HydrologyNL3

Is it related to this? bsky.app/profile/hydr...

Hamilton Salt (unumstritten)3

Can I see that U2 album again?

Elton3

Welp... Uninstalled chrome after using it for a decade. Firefox it is.

Doctor Science ❌👑2

I am not finding this file on my Windows desktop, where I have Chrome Version 147.0.7727.138 installed (though I use Firefox 99% of the time, as now).

Flannagan the Red 🔞2

oh dude i love botnets

Mark Streich 2

Has anyone verified this? I could not find the directory on Windows 10 in ...\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data I do have the setting turned off: chrome://settings/ai/historySearch Also, which chrome://flags should I also try disabling? The article does not mention any.

Dave2

While this is an overreach, surely it's irrelevant unless you have the hardware for it to execute anyway? I only use Chrome for a couple of sites that Firefox bulks at, but I'm sure my c.2012 core i3 w/ no GPU isn't gonna be running any genAI processes unawares, nor is my S5 Neo. GLWT, Google!

Slideman2

If I have it, can I delete it?

Ivan Hodes2

What does ”weights” mean in this context?

typing loudly ⌨️2

this basically just lets Chrome do the same things your phone's TPU can do locally, using your own hardware, without having to do it in a datacenter it's not really for "genAI" stuff, more like voice recognition, OCR, etc its not as nefarious as it looks, but vendors should communicate better!

Tony Hill 2

Can one still deinstall Chrome? Or will it re-download it as well ...

Dan Davis2

Yeah this should be the last straw with Chrome for users who care about privacy and security.

Ian Johnson2

Thank you so much for sharing this.

Vinnie D.2

Making sure to uninstall Chrome tonight. I only kept it for websites too broken to load in Firefox anyway.

Linux + Firefox. FOSS or GTFO There is no other way anymore

bdyguy.bsky.social6

People still use google chrome?

A.K.B.4

Asking a serious question… doesn’t MS do that with copilot? It seems every major player has their AI model being forced on us… even Alexa was forcibly upgraded to “AI” which had to be opted out of.

Deephack on Tech4

Obligatory "NixOS fixes this" comment.

UWOPS2

So tired of the tech bro invasive monitoring that I've finally been migrating for two years now over to Linux. Fiinding Mint to be easiest in migration. Proton Mail is great for those who don't like to be data mined.

Felonious Musk2

I don't see any file called that on Mac OS

Thoth6

Apparently it only gets pulled down if you have that feature on? So. Yeah, that's good to double-check.

Lyrren Littlepaws *Commissions Open*2

Omg that's so disgusting what the actual fuck!? I don't consent to being part of the ai farm ugh

RogerWagnerMDPhD2

Thanks for clarifying. That’s really completely terrifying and infuriating. 🤬

Hazel2

about 90% of internet users use google chrome because they're not IT professionals/terminally online the same reason they use google anything; because it's the familiar name, it's dominant, and it's default.

B. K. Brahma5

Google chrome was forced on my phone out of the box. I don't use it and can't delete it. I'm done with android unless I can get a functioning non-a.i. phone...