Post #2081140

2026-05-06 12:27 UTC

By now you've all probably heard about the latest shenanigans from Google and their love for in-browser AI features (if you don't, this is the story: https://www.theverge.com/tech/924933/google-chrome-4gb-gemini-nano-ai-features). Our team has been inspecting the Chromium code and disabling stuff from the very first version of Vivaldi (we have some posts about this in our blog, such as https://vivaldi.com/blog/news/alert-no-google-topics-in-vivaldi/ or https://vivaldi.com/blog/no-google-vivaldi-users-will-not-get-floced/). We've also been very outspoken about our dislike of the built-in AI trend in the browser industry, but in case there's still any doubts: yes, we disable all Gemini-related features, and we've been doing it for a while.

Replies (13)

@lazza@mastodon.social 2026-05-06 12:30

@Vivaldi will you consider making it optional rather than fully removing it? Like an opt-in feature? I know Vivaldi is very friendly when it comes to user choice.

Open ##2094889
@kyu3a@social.vivaldi.net 2026-05-06 12:38

@Vivaldi I’d like to be able to hide the AI summary on Google’s search results page. This feature is very inaccurate and often gets things wrong. Plus, there’s no option to turn it off. It forces the summary onto users who don’t want it and wastes electricity.

Open ##2094939
@Horisevaharju@piipitin.fi 2026-05-06 12:42

@Vivaldi thank you for this.

Open ##2094949
@rdp@hachyderm.io 2026-05-06 12:56

@Vivaldi Thank you!

Open ##2094950
@SnoozyRests@infosec.exchange 2026-05-06 13:14

@Vivaldi I never thought id see the day where I'm glad that a developer ISNT adding features lmao

Open ##2094951
@alandvalonline@mastodon.social 2026-05-06 13:15

@Vivaldi I'd long ago quit using Chrome, had installed several other options, and moved entirely to Firefox a while ago, but their gradual moves to include AI have soured me on them as well. I did download Vivaldi, Brave, and some others, LibreWolf included. I do not trust anything google any longer. Not that Vivaldi has anything to do with them, but I'm hedging my bets by removing anything Chromium from my system. Even IF Linux is far safer than other OS's. We've had RI in FOSS for ages.

Open ##2094952
@gideonstar@mastodon.gideonstar.de 2026-05-06 13:22

@Vivaldi I would not call it „Feature“.

Open ##2094953
@eLearningTechie@mas.to 2026-05-06 13:35

@Vivaldi Thank you.

Open ##2094954
@allyngibson@social.vivaldi.net 2026-05-06 13:46

@Vivaldi I went ahead an updated the flags suggested in the news articles, anyway. An extra bit of guard never hurt!

Open ##2094955
@pl@cosocial.ca 2026-05-06 14:02

@Vivaldi why do you choose to fight with your foundational technology instead of rolling your own? I refuse to use anything Chromium solely so that there are other engines that may survive, why don't you?

Open ##2094956
@kenSwinson@indieweb.social 2026-05-06 14:14

@Vivaldi Thank you! This is why Vivaldi is my browser of choice. keep up the good work!

Open ##2094958
@alcojor_comic@neopaquita.es 2026-05-08 08:30

@lazza@mastodon.social You DO have choice. You can choose not to install Vivaldi. Software inherits its philosophy from the people who develop it. If they don't want AI, it's logical that they won't put it in their browser. What's not very logical is asking a browser that's all about privacy to add pieces of software that are totally anti-privacy. @benroyce@mastodon.social @Vivaldi@social.vivaldi.net

Open ##2228038
@alcojor_comic@neopaquita.es 2026-05-08 08:27

@lazza@mastodon.social Opt-in means the code will be there, whether I use it or not, making my copy of the software heavier than it should be. No. If you want AI, you can install some extension, or another browser. @dalias@hachyderm.io @Vivaldi@social.vivaldi.net

Open ##2228041