Chrome’s silent 4GB AI model install prompts privacy alarm

Cybernews reports that Google Chrome allegedly writes a 4GB on-device AI model (Gemini Nano) to users’ disks without consent, triggered by default AI features. The binary, named weights.bin and stored under OptGuideOnDeviceModel, appears without any consent prompt and reportedly re-downloads if deleted, raising privacy, consent, and environmental impact concerns and prompting calls for an explicit opt-in.