Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/

[gotofritz@hachyderm.io]

@nixCraft

So let me get this right - as part of its own user approved installation, Chrome installs an AI component that it uses for its own internal purposes.

So the same as video decoders, or pdf renderer, or anything else.

Seems anti-AI hysteria to me

#antiAI #hysteria

[draeath@infosec.exchange]

@neighborhoodnerd21 @nixCraft on Windows, Firefox installs a system service for update handling. Doesn't need a logged-in user to operate.

This has been so for a long time, too.

[kkarhan@c.im]

@nixCraft did anyone at @bsi and/or @certbund / @cert_eu catch this?

nixCraft 🐧 (@nixCraft@mastodon.social)

Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ > No consent dialog. No opt-out UI. Re-installs itself if the user removes it manually. That is the true definition of malware.

Mastodon (mastodon.social)

[clickhere@mastodon.ie]

@nixCraft Does anyone know whether this is confined to the Chrome browser? Is this a potential issue for Chromium-based browsers, too? (Such as Firefox, Vivaldi, etc.)

[lyle@cville.online]

@nixCraft Interesting points about GDPR here

[nixcraft@mastodon.social]

@etbe is this macOS or linux distro ?

[voguelagalere@mastodon.online]

@nixCraft what is this lawyer's name and what jurisdiction is the lawyer licensed to practice law? The lack of these two essential facts on the website is troubling.

[jherazob@mastodon.ie]

@clickhere @nixCraft
Firefox is not Chromium-based so this particular one is not related. As for Vivaldi they explicitly have not included any AI in the browser, and i just checked and it doesn't have this

[trademark@fosstodon.org]

@Reinald @nixCraft yes, https://huggingface.co/oongaboongahacker/Gemini-Nano it's also in the Android SDK, any app can freely use it: https://developer.android.com/ai/gemini-nano it's been a thing since 2024 or so.

[clickhere@mastodon.ie]

@jherazob Thanks and thanks!

That's so weird, I don't know why I had that in my head about FF..

And thanks for checking Vivaldi - fingers crossed it stays that way. (I'm a big fan of theirs, but since I've been burned by so many companies, it's always "for now"..)

@nixCraft

[jherazob@mastodon.ie]

@clickhere @nixCraft
That said, Firefox *IS* going all-in on the AI bug in their own way ("Our Torment Nexus will be Open Source and ethical!"), that's why i migrated to Librewolf, which strips off all these non-features, one of like 3 spinoffs that do similar things (the others were Zen Browser and Waterfox, Floorp went vibe-code, so save for that one any of the other 3 will serve you well enough and choosing one is a matter of taste)

[clickhere@mastodon.ie]

@jherazob Aha, thank you for these - I'd heard of Librewolf and Waterfox before, but couldn't recall them. Perfect.

And yes, I do *not* like where FF is going, so having alternatives is so welcome. (I like to have a few browser options on the go, just in case!)

@nixCraft