Overview
- Snopes found Google’s Gemini Nano model as a roughly 4GB weights.bin file on some desktop Chrome installs on macOS and Windows inside an OptGuideOnDeviceModel folder.
- Snopes staff deleted the file by turning off the On‑System AI toggle in Chrome’s System settings, and the files stayed gone in their follow‑up, though the toggle is still rolling out.
- Google says the on‑device model has been in Chrome since 2024 to power features like Help me write and scam detection without sending data to the cloud, and it removes itself if a device is low on resources.
- Researchers and reporters say Chrome may re‑download the file if it is deleted manually, a behavior Snopes has not verified, and Windows 11 Pro now offers a GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings policy to block and remove local AI models.
- Users can check chrome://on-device-internals for model status or look for weights.bin, a step that helps people on metered internet or limited storage understand and manage the download.