An article has been published[1] explaining how to prevent #Chrome from downloading the #Gemini Nano model on #Windows via a Registry change. But it seems to me that such a method is only effective for as long as Google respects that policy in the Registry, doesn't change its name/path, etc.
Instead, has anybody tried creating an empty weights.bin file in the relevant location[2], and then removing all permissions from that file so that Chrome can't read, write, replace, or do anything else with it?
[1] https://pureinfotech.com/stop-chrome-gemini-nano-download-windows-11/
[2] %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\OptGuideOnDeviceModel
