Day 24 & 25: Chromium & Manganese!

Happy holidays everyone!

When I was in school chromate compounds always sticks out as the only precipitation that actually has colors instead of just boring white. Chromium also has a lot of possible oxidation states, which makes her compounds have all kinds of crazy colors, such as green, blue, red, orange and purple. This is where her name actually came from. (From Greek “kroma” meaning color)

Not even counting the lost storage and internet bandwidth, at a billion devices (minimum), the climate costs are horrific:

If this model were pushed to just 1 billion Chrome users (roughly 30% of Chrome’s user base), the distribution alone consumed 240 gigawatt-hours of energy and generate 60,000 tons of CO2. That’s not including actually using the model, just the downloads.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect is the broader pattern this represents. Just a few weeks ago, another unsolicited AI invasion - Anthropic’s Claude Desktop app - silently installed browser integration files across multiple Chromium browsers, which reinstalls itself if removed.

Both happen without any user consent or even disclosure.

Both likely violate EU privacy law, specifically the ePrivacy Directive rules about storing data on user devices and the GDPR’s requirements around transparency and lawful processing.

It's easier to find and remove the files and software on a computer, but you can at least turn off "AI features," delete app storage, and then uninstall Chrome et al from your phone.

If you're still using Chrome (or even one of its derivatives, like Opera that I use as a backup), it's now past time to uninstall, delete those creepy privacy-invading bloatware files, and use only Firefox and other such secure, private browsers.