Google Chrome now lets you turn off on-device AI model powering scam detection

Google Chrome now lets you delete the local AI models that power the “Enhanced Protection” feature, which was upgraded with AI capabilities last year.

Enhanced protection isn’t a new feature. It’s been in Chrome for a few years now, but it was updated with unknown AI models to offer “real-time” protection against dangerous websites, downloads, and extensions. 

It’s unclear how the feature is different from the older ‘non-AI’ version, but Google could be using AI to understand the pattern in real-time and warn users about potentially harmful sites, even those that Google hasn’t previously identified.

According to Google, AI protection also performs an in-depth scan for suspicious downloads.

Now, Google has confirmed that Enhanced Protection was powered by an AI model hosted on your device via Google Chrome.

As spotted by Leo, Google Chrome now lets you delete the AI models behind AI-powered Enhanced protection. 

To delete the AI model, you need to open Chrome > Settings > System and turn off “On-device GenAI.”

This feature is live in Chrome Canary, and it’ll roll out to everyone soon.