Google Chrome is downloading a 4 GB Gemini Nano model onto users' machines without consent, with no opt-in, no opt-out short of enterprise tooling, and an automatic re-download every time the user deletes it. The pattern is identical to the Anthropic Claude Desktop case I wrote about last month, but the scale is between two and three orders of magnitude larger. This article does the legal analysis and, for the first time, the environmental analysis. The numbers are not small.
The only ways to make the deletion stick are to disable Chrome’s AI features through chrome://flags or enterprise policy tooling that home users do not generally have, or to uninstall Chrome entirely
It can probably be reverted at their whim at any time
You probably don’t have access to it
It is the most realistic option, just use another non chromium browser
So it just to the Chrome app?
The article actually gives 3 options:
Even Chromium should be fine. I doubt it has the branded Google AI features.