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

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/8b283ccb-2cd6-4777-ba71-c710005760ac/google-chrome-silently-installs-a-4-gb-ai-model-on-your-device-https-www.thatprivacyguy.com-blog-chrome-silent-nano-installRSS for NodeFri, 15 May 2026 10:04:12 GMTTue, 05 May 2026 09:40:52 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:46:00 GMT]]>@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

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/clickhere/statuses/116521799520013959https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/clickhere/statuses/116521799520013959Tue, 05 May 2026 11:46:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:43:21 GMT]]>@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)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/jherazob/statuses/116521789114561186https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/jherazob/statuses/116521789114561186Tue, 05 May 2026 11:43:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:27:37 GMT]]>@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

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/clickhere/statuses/116521727275710909https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/clickhere/statuses/116521727275710909Tue, 05 May 2026 11:27:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:26:11 GMT]]>@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.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/trademark/statuses/116521721604127026https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/trademark/statuses/116521721604127026Tue, 05 May 2026 11:26:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:21:32 GMT]]>@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

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/jherazob/statuses/116521703340836730https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/jherazob/statuses/116521703340836730Tue, 05 May 2026 11:21:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:21:03 GMT]]>@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.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/VogueLaGalere/statuses/116521701461065607https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/VogueLaGalere/statuses/116521701461065607Tue, 05 May 2026 11:21:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:19:28 GMT]]>@etbe is this macOS or linux distro ?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/nixCraft/statuses/116521695229921346https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/nixCraft/statuses/116521695229921346Tue, 05 May 2026 11:19:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:18:18 GMT]]>@nixCraft Interesting points about GDPR here

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cville.online/users/Lyle/statuses/116521690660241447https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cville.online/users/Lyle/statuses/116521690660241447Tue, 05 May 2026 11:18:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:17:41 GMT]]>@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.)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/clickhere/statuses/116521688171603293https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/clickhere/statuses/116521688171603293Tue, 05 May 2026 11:17:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:16:32 GMT]]>@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.

favicon

Mastodon (mastodon.social)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/ap/users/116307071344437495/statuses/116521683680056903https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/ap/users/116307071344437495/statuses/116521683680056903Tue, 05 May 2026 11:16:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:11:55 GMT]]>@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.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/draeath/statuses/116521665531254902https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/draeath/statuses/116521665531254902Tue, 05 May 2026 11:11:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:09:16 GMT]]>@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

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/gotofritz/statuses/116521655104208024https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/gotofritz/statuses/116521655104208024Tue, 05 May 2026 11:09:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:00:58 GMT]]>@nixCraft my linux desktop shows that model at 2.5GB at the moment. So much LLM, but the spell check and autocorrect are still worse than they were 10 years ago?!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://toot.community/users/tmcfarlane/statuses/116521622440647017https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://toot.community/users/tmcfarlane/statuses/116521622440647017Tue, 05 May 2026 11:00:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 10:50:22 GMT]]>@nixCraft very nice 😅

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/GOKUSHRM/statuses/116521580760228859https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/GOKUSHRM/statuses/116521580760228859Tue, 05 May 2026 10:50:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 10:50:10 GMT]]>@nixCraft oh yeah all of the sudden i started noticing a gemini icon in the menu bar on mac that persisted even when google was closed. im also not understanding why google chrome needs something to start at login on systems to update but no other application or browser seems to

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116471027209736163/statuses/116521580018134034https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116471027209736163/statuses/116521580018134034Tue, 05 May 2026 10:50:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 10:41:20 GMT]]>@nixCraft can that llm-Model be abducted and repurposed to something useful?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://nrw.social/users/Reinald/statuses/116521545247475341https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://nrw.social/users/Reinald/statuses/116521545247475341Tue, 05 May 2026 10:41:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 10:22:57 GMT]]>@nixCraft good thing my computer 💻 operating system is too old to update anything 😂

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://climatejustice.social/users/lacybarry/statuses/116521472989753818https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://climatejustice.social/users/lacybarry/statuses/116521472989753818Tue, 05 May 2026 10:22:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 10:21:01 GMT]]>@nixCraft do you think that is happening on my Debian 13 version of Chrome? I'm pretty sure I would know.

I have found Chromium to be quite good. It's basically the same browser but, stripped down.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/dckim/statuses/116521465361160204https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/dckim/statuses/116521465361160204Tue, 05 May 2026 10:21:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 10:13:51 GMT]]>@nixCraft What the Fuck! There is not a bridge span long enough to string up all these A.I fuckers!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://ohai.social/users/robchapman/statuses/116521437232547436https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://ohai.social/users/robchapman/statuses/116521437232547436Tue, 05 May 2026 10:13:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 10:11:03 GMT]]>@nixCraft
Then: Don't be evil
Now: Be evil

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/BoloMKXXVIII/statuses/116521426197825616https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/BoloMKXXVIII/statuses/116521426197825616Tue, 05 May 2026 10:11:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 10:10:42 GMT]]>@nixCraft

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/n_dimension/statuses/116521424820104593https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/n_dimension/statuses/116521424820104593Tue, 05 May 2026 10:10:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 10:10:19 GMT]]>@nixCraft while everyone is distracted by the incompetence of the Copilot and clowning around by the Claude, Captain Gemini is taking over.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/htpcnz/statuses/116521423273755588https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/htpcnz/statuses/116521423273755588Tue, 05 May 2026 10:10:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 09:55:31 GMT]]>@nixCraft @lmorel la vase est profonde

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/hpcharles/statuses/116521365087224506https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/hpcharles/statuses/116521365087224506Tue, 05 May 2026 09:55:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-silent-nano-install/ on Tue, 05 May 2026 09:43:32 GMT]]>@nixCraft

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ml/ap/users/116201060172345207/statuses/116521317960336458https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ml/ap/users/116201060172345207/statuses/116521317960336458Tue, 05 May 2026 09:43:32 GMT