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Abandoned with curiosity
Google users were ready to forgive AI in 2024, but the backlash is real in 2026. People are focusing on avoiding the appearance of AI, which makes this 4GB very doubtful. Google’s obsession with AI has led to many stumbles, despite the company’s good intentions, because we are all (rightly!) focused on how this technology affects our lives.
Some of those “good intentions” seem to have made Chrome more difficult. When users looked for ways to remove the AI type, many looked for updates. This happened to coincide with the major release of Chrome 148, and the change signal included a very dubious change against v147.
Google says the change was made to better understand how Chrome’s APIs work.
Credit: Ryan Whitwam
Google says the change was made to better understand how Chrome’s APIs work.
Credit: Ryan Whitwam
Google removed the fact that its AI version on devices will not send data to Google servers. This is dangerous, because one of the main features of the native AI is its main secret. We reached out to Google to ask if this statement is a result of Chrome’s changes to the AI device.
“This does not represent a change in the way we work on Chrome’s AI device,” a Google spokesperson said. “The content assigned to the brand is automatically updated on the device.”
According to Google, the team decided to change this at the beginning of 2026 to ensure that it is clear how AI works on the Internet. Chrome’s native AI they have an API which the site may use, for example, to shorten or edit your text. For this purpose, the website can see the input and output. If it is a Google website, the data ends up on Google’s servers. If it’s a non-Google site, Google won’t see any of that information.
That explanation may or may not be satisfactory as the fight against AI develops. Regardless, using the Internet is not always private. If you are not sure about the use of AI tools on the website, you should always try to explain the privacy policy, which will tell you how your data (generated by AI or not) will be used. As long as Google is deploying AI as an exit service, you should be very careful.
As the saying goes, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, but Google should ask for permission more often.
