Chrome Privacy

Chrome 148 Quietly Downloads a 4GB AI Model – Here’s How to Check and Stop It A quiet change in Chrome 148 has caught the attention of privacy-conscious users: the browser is downloading an AI model roughly 4GB in size without an explicit prompt. Google has acknowledged the feature and explained its purpose, but many users are understandably concerned about the impact on bandwidth, storage, and privacy. Here’s what’s actually happening, what Google says, and—most importantly—how to take control. ...

Chrome Quietly Dropped Its On-Device AI Privacy Promise—Here’s What to Do If you use Google Chrome and have noticed new AI features appearing in the browser, you may have also noticed that a key privacy assurance quietly disappeared. Until recently, Chrome’s documentation stated that its “on-device AI” features processed everything locally and did not send data to Google’s servers. That claim has now been removed, and there is evidence that Chrome is also installing a large AI model on users’ computers without clear, upfront consent. Here is what changed, why it matters, and what you can do about it. ...

Chrome Quietly Deleted a Key Privacy Promise — Here’s Why It Matters for You In early May 2026, observant Chrome users and privacy watchdogs noticed something missing from the browser’s settings page. A long-standing privacy guarantee—one that assured users Google would not send personal data to its servers for certain features—had been silently removed. The change, first reported by Decrypt on May 7, correlates with the rollout of new on-device AI capabilities in Chrome. If you rely on Chrome for everyday browsing and care about where your data goes, this shift is worth understanding. ...