Google Chrome recently released the official version 149 of Chrome, which has fully opened up the device-side AI management feature to all users. Previously, this browser had caused a lot of user attention and trouble due to repeatedly automatically downloading about 4GB of local AI models in the background. These models are mainly used for simple local tasks such as text writing and phishing website detection, but they take up a significant amount of hard disk storage space. In older versions, many users even manually deleted these model files in folders, but the browser would re-download them automatically afterward.

image.png

Introducing an One-Tap Disable Switch

In response to this controversial issue, the new version has added an independent control switch for the device-side AI function in the settings. After upgrading to the latest version, users can simply go to the device-side AI settings page in the system and actively disable this feature. Once disabled, the browser will no longer re-download the related components and will also automatically clean up all the model weight files that have been cached locally. This intelligent approach allows users to avoid the tedious process of manually deleting files by entering deep system folders.

Completely Freeing Up Multiple Disk Drives

For ordinary users who only install a single browser, the 4GB space consumption may not cause too much burden on the system operation. However, for developers or tech enthusiasts who often need to install multiple versions such as the stable version, testing version, development version, and Canary version at the same time, having multiple versions independently download models can greatly consume the system disk space. With the new management mechanism, users can choose to disable this feature in less frequently used versions. This not only effectively prevents unnecessary waste of hard disk space but also makes the browser environment cleaner and more controllable.