On Windows 11, Microsoft Edge can automatically download AI models to your computer without asking for permission first. In this guide, I’ll show you how to stop it.
While recent reports have focused on Google Chrome silently downloading the 4GB Gemini Nano AI model in the background, this behavior is not new.
The issue also goes beyond Chrome. Discussions about the “OptGuideOnDeviceModel” folder and the large “weights.bin” file have circulated in community forums for more than a year, with many users questioning why the browser suddenly consumes several additional gigabytes of storage. For devices with limited SSD capacity, a single AI model taking up roughly 4GB can feel excessive compared to the browser’s original installation footprint.
Since Microsoft Edge is built on the Chromium project maintained by Google, it can also download AI models locally for on-device AI features. However, you can use an official Registry policy to block the automatic download of these AI models entirely.
To stop Microsoft Edge from quietly downloading large, multi-gigabyte local AI models on Windows 11, you can enforce a specific policy using the Windows Registry. This process permanently prevents Edge from storing on-device AI foundational models.
How to Disable AI Model Downloads via Registry
- Open Registry Editor: Press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and press Enter.
- Navigate to the Edge Policy Key: In the left sidebar, paste or navigate to the following
path:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge - (If the Edge key does not exist under Microsoft, right-click on Microsoft, select New — Key, and name it Edge).
- Create the AI Policy: Right-click on the Edge key, select New — DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Name the Value: Name the new value exactly: GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings
- Set the Value to Disable: Double-click the newly created GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings value and change its Value data from 0 to 1. Leave the Base set to Hexadecimal and click OK
- Restart: Restart your computer for the policy to take full effect. Setting this value to 1 prevents the models from downloading and deletes any previously downloaded models from your device.
For Windows 11 Pro/Enterprise Users (Group Policy)
- If you are on Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise, you can use the Group Policy Editor instead of the Registry:
- Press Windows Key + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter.
- Go to Computer Configuration — Administrative Templates — Microsoft Edge.
- Locate and open the setting named Settings for GenAI local foundational model.
- Set it to Enabled and choose Do not download model from the dropdown menu.
