Windows Central Insider
Earlier this week, it was discovered that Google Chrome "silently" downloads and installs a 4GB on-device AI model to PCs. While the move has drawn backlash from users, Google dismissed claims that the model is any kind of spyware or bloatware.
The company indicated that the "weights.bin" file powering Gemini Nano is designed to protect the user's privacy when interacting with new AI features within the browser because "it powers important security capabilities like scam detection and developer APIs without sending your data to the cloud."
Luckily, there's a new Windows 11 Registry setting dubbed “GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings” designed to help organizations establish control over how the browser handles local generative AI models (via Neowin). As such, users can use this policy to disable Google Chrome's 4GB Gemini Nano AI model.
Google already indicated that it started rolling out the ability for users to easily turn off or completely remove its model directly in Chrome's settings in February. But as highlighted by security researcher Alexander Hanff (also known as "That Privacy Guy"), "If the user deletes it, Chrome re-downloads it."
The same also applies to Microsoft Edge, meaning the browser can download a local AI model for on-device generative AI features without explicit user consent, potentially eating up disk space and bandwidth.
Now, this new Windows 11 Registry policy supports dynamic refresh, allowing administrators to apply changes without requiring users to restart their browsers. Although primarily designed for office environments, it’s also available to individual users running Windows 11 Pro. Configuration can be done through Group Policy, Registry settings, or enterprise management tools.
Through the policy, you can either select the “Allowed (0)” setting, which will allow Microsoft Edge to automatically download the AI model for on-device inferencing, or select the “Disallowed (1)” option to prevent the browser from downloading the AI model and remove any model that was previously downloaded and installed on your device. It's worth noting that this applies to Google Chrome, too.
To block Microsoft Edge from downloading the AI model for local inferencing, follow the steps highlighted below:
- Open Registry Editor (REGEDIT.msc).
- Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
- Set the value of "GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings" to 1
You can repeat the same steps if you're using Google Chrome as your daily driver by navigating through HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ and then setting the value of "GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings" to 1. It's the same method.
It's important to make sure you've configured this policy, especially if you're running Google Chrome version 147 or later, because it will download the local AI model by default. The feature is also supported on macOS and is available to Microsoft Edge users starting with version 132. However, it's not supported on iOS.
I'm conflicted. On one hand, blocking AI models means that I won't get access to local AI, which is (usually) inherently safer than the cloud. On the other hand, leaving the feature enabled means it can consume my storage and bandwidth without notice, and I can't ignore the outcry of privacy and security concerns around any kind of AI.
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