Google Chrome silently downloads a 4GB AI model, researchers warn

Fatman VS The Night346

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)173

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

Flynn126

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.social95

I am mad my device permitted this without approval.

Fox Paws78

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

Dave M. 🇨🇦⚜️66

Okay that should be illegal

i-smaelg.bsky.social59

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.

bjkeefe864757

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

Jack of The Shadows44

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?

Ackart28

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

socalurker.bsky.social23

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

Plenary Dough Boi23

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%.

Megan Goodwin21

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...

🐦‍⬛®AV☰N🏴‍☠️🌌20

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.

Craig Ganzer17

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

Jón Frímann17

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

Xydexx Unicorn 🦄💕🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈16

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.

AmjerAjaxTheDerg15

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

Lasagnaless15

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

Robin Wilton 🇱🇧12

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

Tek12

Lol who tf is still using chrome?

Boris Car Lot9

This article assumes readers are all tech whizzes. Is there a version in plain English, with instructions on how to get around this?

wolscott9

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

Vinnie D.9

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

David Niall Wilson8

But... if the user deletes it and makes the directory read only it does not download it again. Just saying there are always options. Unfortunately the good ones nearly always end up as the bad ones over time.

The Raccoon Overlord8

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.

Bastion Aralus8

How can I destroy the ai

Mew8

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

Candace Robb8

"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."

Lindblut 🐉🩸8

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!

James Jones7

Today is a great day to delete Google Chrome from your device.

cold soup7

using tech these days is like a bunch of the biggest jackasses in the world surrounding you while you do everything chanting "You like AI. You like AI. You like AI"

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)

Just Howlin' not Wolf6

Sounds like a class action lawsuit waiting to happen.

Jake Archibald6

They also bypassed the web standards process after Mozilla, Apple, and Microsoft opposed shipping this. They also misrepresented developers by saying they were "strongly supportive". bsky.app/profile/webd...

voiceless.bsky.social6

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

mblneto.bsky.social6

I stopped using Chrome several years ago when they began auto-signing into the browser when you signed in into any Google website. The idea of Google having unfettered access to my browser history unsettled me and I was baffled by people who willingly signed into the browser.

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

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

Katie, little lady in the streets/old sardine tin for sleeps5

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?

ouroborous916.bsky.social4

I quit tiktok, instagram, and working on facebook.... now chrome 😓 i might migrate to another email provider entirely. I feel all these platforms originated from a good place but mass adoption always attracts mass corruption. So no matter what we escape to, it will eventually turn nefarious.

AuthorHickoryMack4

Yes. Randomly, my phone could no longer connect the Bluetooth to my car, because Gemini (which I did not download) kept interrupting my music because we were driving. Gemini made my phone and car incompatable.

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.

HydrologyNL4

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

Enfinity Cast4

The line between "helpful feature" and "digital parasite" gets blurrier every day. Makes you wonder what other uninvited guests are setting up shop in our devices while we sleep.

Hamilton Salt (unumstritten)4

Can I see that U2 album again?

Dan Davis4

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

yrbffanna.bsky.social4

Is your article saying it *can* be delete if you change the flags? If you shut off the AI flags, do you still need to delete it? I need an ELI5.

Elton4

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

David Kane, Doot Nuggler4

Straight up Bonzi Buddy behavior

Alan Williamson3

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

Doctor Science ❌👑3

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).

Skeets Foryou3

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

Seriva Mertail3

Time to delete chrome, sounds like.

typing loudly ⌨️3

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!

@dcEmerald 🍀3

Look for this: [weights.bin] Delete it and it returns. Every time you use Google or Claude install. No consent or notice. Dark design is stealing from you. It costs you storage on your laptop + mobile; that means you pay $$ and waste Co2 emissions in the process. Plus it is against the law!!!

🩸🦇 Hearth Holmes 🦇🩸3

I keep on turning on Developer Mode and deleting whatever I can.

His Royal Huwness 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🐸🇵🇸🇪🇺2

Are we talking Chrome as an operating system or the browser? Excuse me if that question betrays my ignorance.

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.

Joni 🍓🏳️‍⚧️2

If I still used Chrome, it would be funny if I didn’t have enough disk space for the file. My desktop’s primary disk is always dangerously close to full 💀 (i tend to hoard digital content)

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?

T.N.T.BOOM!2

Thank GOD i use Firefox.

Ivan Hodes2

What does ”weights” mean in this context?

Juhleen2

Never been more glad I kicked chrome years ago

R Y N A X2

Does this apply to chromium based browsers as well like opera, brave and duck duck go?

patter.bsky.social2

Chromium may be a good alternative, if you can't switch to Firefox. download-chromium.appspot.com

Ben & Whimsi 🔜 AC 20262

So does this mean I should get rid of Chrome from my laptop? Never really used it anyway. Only Safari and Firefox.

Tony Hill 2

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

Christine Langhoff2

Lots of school kids use Chrome.

Ryukage2

The suggestion I'm trying is to replace the weights.bin file with another file with the identical name set to read-only. I'll have to wait and see if it suddenly grows by 4gb.

Ian Johnson2

Thank you so much for sharing this.

bizarreman.bsky.social2

I stopped using chrome when they started blocking ad blockers and put in their own unblockable trackers.

Cuck Norris2

So glad I haven’t used chrome in years.

Json Momoa2

I think Edge does something similar with copilot

Thoth6

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

Disobey immoral orders; defy corrupt presidents3

I just deleted it. It's not the browser I use. I had to install it in order to use a certain texting ap to register voters. It gave me a questionnaire asking for the reason I was deleting it. The reason I gave was betrayal of the promise not to be evil.

🦊DragonFoxStar ⏩COMMS OPEN2

Yeah I use waterfox (alter version of firefox) right now. Haven't bothered to use Google Chrome at all and never will at this point.

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. 🤬

B. K. Brahma6

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...

Everyone needs some PsyTrance2

Easy fix only use a 5 year out of date chrome with updates disable. Checkmate hackerz (google)