Google Chrome Downloads 4GB Gemini Nano Model Without Consent, Raising EU Privacy Questions
Updated
Updated · CNET · May 21
Google Chrome Downloads 4GB Gemini Nano Model Without Consent, Raising EU Privacy Questions
7 articles · Updated · CNET · May 21
Chrome has automatically placed Google’s 4GB Gemini Nano on some eligible devices without asking users, with the company not disclosing how many installations occurred.
Google said it began adding a setting in February to let users disable and remove the on-device model, and said the download will uninstall itself if a device lacks resources.
Gemini Nano runs AI tasks locally rather than in Google’s cloud, a shift privacy advocate Alexander Hanff said could cut Google’s inference costs by using customers’ hardware instead.
Hanff argued the undisclosed install may breach EU GDPR principles of lawfulness, fairness and transparency, and said Chrome does not clearly surface the model unless users manually look for files such as weights.bin.
With a 4GB AI secretly installed on your computer, who really controls your device: you or Google?
Is Google's on-device AI a privacy feature or a way to shift billions in operational costs onto unsuspecting users?