How to Disable Google's Gemini in Chrome
Key takeaways
- The file started auto-downloading for Chrome users in 2024 after Google built Gemini Nano into the browser.
- To uninstall the Gemini Nano file, open Chrome on your computer, in the top right corner click the “More” menu represented by three vertical dots, then go to Settings, System, and then toggle “On-device AI” to be off.
- The company added, too, that the system is designed so Gemini Nano “will automatically uninstall if the device is low on resources.”
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story If you use Google's Chrome browser for desktop, there's probably a Gemini Nano AI model running on your computer right now and taking up about 4 GB of space. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you didn't know about it and don't want it, there's a way to turn it off.
The file started auto-downloading for Chrome users in 2024 after Google built Gemini Nano into the browser. But a report by That Privacy Guy this week and the ensuing reception it received highlighted how unaware many users were—perhaps a result of a flood of AI services and features across the tech industry that have been difficult for users to keep up with.
To uninstall the Gemini Nano file, open Chrome on your computer, in the top right corner click the “More” menu represented by three vertical dots, then go to Settings, System, and then toggle “On-device AI” to be off. The Privacy Guy article noted that if you directly uninstall the Gemini Nano file in the directory, Chrome will silently, automatically redownload it the next time the browser reboots.