Chrome Silently Installs 4GB Gemini Nano Without Consent
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- Google Chrome is installing a 4GB AI model file (weights.bin, part of Gemini Nano) on user devices with no consent prompt, no settings checkbox, and no surface notification, according to computer scientist Alexander Hanff.
- Hanff found the file downloads automatically when Chrome's AI features activate, and re-downloads itself if the user manually deletes it — taking zero clicks to install but multiple undocumented steps to remove.
- The full install takes just 14 minutes and 28 seconds from directory creation to final move, and users typically discover the download months later only when their disk fills up.
- Hanff argues the silent push likely violates the EU's ePrivacy Directive and other computer access laws, drawing a parallel to his recent accusation that Anthropic installed spyware on Claude Desktop users.
- At Chrome's global scale, the mass distribution of the 4GB binary generates between 6,000 and 60,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions per push — a cost, as Hanff puts it, 'paid in atmospheric CO2 by the entire planet.'
- Hanff is calling on Google to replace the default-on behavior with an explicit opt-in prompt, framing the next Chrome update as a test of whether Google's published positions on responsible AI and sustainability carry any real weight.
Why it matters: At Chrome's two-billion-user scale, a single unilateral push of a 4GB binary produces 6,000–60,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions, and Hanff's allegation of an ePrivacy Directive violation puts Google in the same legal crosshairs he recently trained on Anthropic. How Google responds — or doesn't — will signal whether its stated commitments to responsible AI and sustainability apply when doing the right thing costs product roadmap momentum.
