<![CDATA[Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size.]]>Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. It's done without consent, it's not visible in the settings, and removing it will reinstall it later.

https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/c9ea7628-01ab-447c-bd51-8b127d6e45d3/google-chrome-is-silently-installing-a-local-llm-on-your-computer-that-is-4-gigabytes-in-size.RSS for NodeThu, 14 May 2026 05:57:07 GMTTue, 05 May 2026 13:00:05 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Wed, 06 May 2026 11:25:40 GMT]]>@civodul if that argument holds then Guix should stop downloading 50Gb per machine per annum 😉

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/pjotrprins/statuses/116527381921457937https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/pjotrprins/statuses/116527381921457937Wed, 06 May 2026 11:25:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Wed, 06 May 2026 11:18:30 GMT]]>@pvdrijst @Linux @atoponce @Vivaldi

That a feature is mentioned in that list does not mean it is enabled, it just means the code exists (and it is too difficult to actually disable this at compile-time, that requires too many patches). In fact, the feature the whole download depends on (OptimizationGuide) is disabled in Vivaldi and have been for a while, and I recently disabled the PromptApi features to be on the safe side. In addition, for a while what I suspect is the download URL for the model files being discussed has been pointed at a server that only return 404 responses . in case it should somehow be loaded.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://social.vivaldi.net/users/TechieNotNetie/statuses/116527353721116276https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://social.vivaldi.net/users/TechieNotNetie/statuses/116527353721116276Wed, 06 May 2026 11:18:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Wed, 06 May 2026 10:33:27 GMT]]>@jasper @atoponce, why I didn't notice that!

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://social.treehouse.systems/users/mgorny/statuses/116527176565349334https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://social.treehouse.systems/users/mgorny/statuses/116527176565349334Wed, 06 May 2026 10:33:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Wed, 06 May 2026 10:21:45 GMT]]>@mgorny @atoponce 1/0.25nano

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.nl/users/jasper/statuses/116527130568928484https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.nl/users/jasper/statuses/116527130568928484Wed, 06 May 2026 10:21:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Wed, 06 May 2026 07:58:57 GMT]]>@Linux @atoponce @Vivaldi Well Vivaldi is based on Chrome. type vivaldi:flags and search for nano

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/pvdrijst/statuses/116526569083415465https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/pvdrijst/statuses/116526569083415465Wed, 06 May 2026 07:58:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Wed, 06 May 2026 04:11:58 GMT]]>@tbachner @atoponce It's on my ubuntu machine.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://sfba.social/users/tito_swineflu/statuses/116525676534524993https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://sfba.social/users/tito_swineflu/statuses/116525676534524993Wed, 06 May 2026 04:11:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Wed, 06 May 2026 02:51:24 GMT]]>@atoponce why are people still even using chrome ffs

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://beige.party/users/rothko/statuses/116525359716082954https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://beige.party/users/rothko/statuses/116525359716082954Wed, 06 May 2026 02:51:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Wed, 06 May 2026 02:15:57 GMT]]>@atoponce Good that we have a healthy browser competition and it’s easy to switch

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/almad/statuses/116525220363582093https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/almad/statuses/116525220363582093Wed, 06 May 2026 02:15:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Wed, 06 May 2026 01:37:51 GMT]]>@atoponce

Feature flag is here: chrome://flags/#prompt-api-for-gemini-nano

When enabled, it powers demos like this: https://chrome.dev/web-ai-demos/prompt-api-playground/

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/Arpie4Math/statuses/116525070522838905https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/Arpie4Math/statuses/116525070522838905Wed, 06 May 2026 01:37:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 23:16:45 GMT]]>@atoponce@fosstodon.orgMy thoughts on this would be to write a script that installs in MBR,
At boot time,
With no date limit,
Forensics Tools...
The script that will block such request in the future.
If you are worried about the coding process, AI is Excellent in the helping.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116139949607967655/statuses/116524515677677773https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116139949607967655/statuses/116524515677677773Tue, 05 May 2026 23:16:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 21:56:58 GMT]]>@atoponce the heck 🫩.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://navi.lain.day/users/radhitya/statuses/01KQX29W2V7TBFBEP8PH77BCFVhttps://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://navi.lain.day/users/radhitya/statuses/01KQX29W2V7TBFBEP8PH77BCFVTue, 05 May 2026 21:56:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 21:54:51 GMT]]>@atoponce question seems to be why? If the weights are sitting on your machine, but the ai functionality is still calling home... Is this some weird distributed AI alternative to building data centres? Using your users processing downtime to answer Gemini queries _elsewhere_?

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/toychicken/statuses/116524193625454234https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/toychicken/statuses/116524193625454234Tue, 05 May 2026 21:54:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 20:31:42 GMT]]>@atoponce AI infra companies cannot seriously get away with pulling shit like this surely

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://techhub.social/users/beemdvp/statuses/116523866702519009https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://techhub.social/users/beemdvp/statuses/116523866702519009Tue, 05 May 2026 20:31:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 20:22:57 GMT]]>@atoponce@fosstodon.org @tbachner@ruhr.social

Yeah. I'm using an EL9 derivative (via WSL). Looks like I installed the portable installer (i.e., it lives under ${HOME}/firefox/) rather than from RPM, though. A little odd for my habits, but I can't remember why I did it that way.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://blahaj.zone/notes/alwn3ej0btsr021khttps://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://blahaj.zone/notes/alwn3ej0btsr021kTue, 05 May 2026 20:22:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 19:53:45 GMT]]>@tbachner It's not for me which I installed via Flatpak. I've left Chrome running for the past few hours and executed:

% find / -type f -name weights.bin 2> /dev/random

a couple times, with no results.

However, @ferricoxide found it on their machine in ~/.config/google-chrome/

YMMV.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/atoponce/statuses/116523717485395537https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/atoponce/statuses/116523717485395537Tue, 05 May 2026 19:53:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 19:51:04 GMT]]>@atoponce Which OS? Chrome under Linux affected?

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://ruhr.social/users/tbachner/statuses/116523706904520667https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://ruhr.social/users/tbachner/statuses/116523706904520667Tue, 05 May 2026 19:51:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 19:50:01 GMT]]>@atoponce Is this news? It's over a year old. IIRC, it's designed to reduce the amount of data sent off-machine. They were talking about space consumption in Canary release in Feb of 2025 (https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/chrome-ai-dev-preview-discuss/c/PhgjQg4IoQk)

Looking for all the models that have been downloaded for cache in browser, it's not just limited to one. chrome://on-device-internals/

You can use the Tools tab to 'Load Default' model, then type your prompt in the box below. It's slower than a cloud-based response.

Ask 'how to spell "incorriggable" and it takes 2 seconds to spit out: The correct spelling is incorrigible.

Takes 10 more seconds to explain each part of the word.

Then it crashes.

I'd rather handle spell checks on-box than send every word up to a cloud service.

But, don't ask it what the range of radio delay is between the earth and the moon. Highest Quality says 2.5 milliseconds, and crashes. Fastest inference says 22 seconds, and crashes. Not usable.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/hal8999/statuses/116523702747341835https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/hal8999/statuses/116523702747341835Tue, 05 May 2026 19:50:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 19:29:41 GMT]]>@rodneylives @mgorny @atoponce

I still have a backup phone like that

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://functional.cafe/users/xgqt/statuses/116523622838648949https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://functional.cafe/users/xgqt/statuses/116523622838648949Tue, 05 May 2026 19:29:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 19:20:04 GMT]]>@atoponce

> At a billion-device scale the climate costs are insane.

this is just blind LLM outrage. Yes it's a waste of storage and network that nobody consented to. It's not guaranteed to make people use more CPU as they have to interact with whatever feature this is going to empower. But it's *only* 4GB.

Please write an article about the climate costs of internet ads. This is about a trillion times more wasteful and nobody consents to it. It wastes so much CPU and you could literally calculate the damage to batteries of mobile devices caused by this unwanted, unsolicited, uninvited compute.]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://friedcheese.us/objects/9279cac1-d591-44f8-ad56-610989358cc1https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://friedcheese.us/objects/9279cac1-d591-44f8-ad56-610989358cc1Tue, 05 May 2026 19:20:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 19:19:05 GMT]]>@atoponce it's so easy to deactivate it - just uninstall Chrome! You all should have done it long time ago!

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://activitypub.mnethome.de/users/mat/statuses/01KQWS8SVXRKDG5WTPH37VA5J4https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://activitypub.mnethome.de/users/mat/statuses/01KQWS8SVXRKDG5WTPH37VA5J4Tue, 05 May 2026 19:19:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 19:14:32 GMT]]>@veronica @atoponce And with very little effort, and no need for advanced knowledge. It's a great option.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.radio/users/W6KME/statuses/116523563256216610https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.radio/users/W6KME/statuses/116523563256216610Tue, 05 May 2026 19:14:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 19:08:03 GMT]]>@bontchev @atoponce one company does a bad thing, so other company doing a similar bad thing is nothing

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mefi.social/users/rodneylives/statuses/116523537774741646https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mefi.social/users/rodneylives/statuses/116523537774741646Tue, 05 May 2026 19:08:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 19:06:58 GMT]]>@xgqt @mgorny @atoponce I've had phones where this would be one-eighth of its storage.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mefi.social/users/rodneylives/statuses/116523533512966942https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mefi.social/users/rodneylives/statuses/116523533512966942Tue, 05 May 2026 19:06:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome is silently installing a local LLM on your computer that is 4 gigabytes in size. on Tue, 05 May 2026 19:06:28 GMT]]>@W6KME @atoponce Deleting Chrome is the preferred solution for fixing Chrome. It fixes all currently known and future issues.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/veronica/statuses/116523531539881605https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/veronica/statuses/116523531539881605Tue, 05 May 2026 19:06:28 GMT