Last month, Google created an AI image generation tool, Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, or nano banana, as part of the Gemini app [File]
| Photo credit: Reuters
Google’s generative AI nano banana is gaining huge popularity in India. People are using it to create hyper-realistic self-portraits and edit old pictures with new mockups.
The “Red Saree” trend has taken over social media, with users transforming existing photos into vintage-style portraits of themselves wearing a red saree, with 90s-style slicked-back hair, while enjoying the golden glow of the sunset.
This new trend is reminiscent of the rise in popularity of Chatgpt’s Studio Ghibli-inspired portraits that flooded social media platforms a few months ago.
The Nano Banana trend gained momentum after Google introduced its AI image generation tool Gemini 2.5 Flash Image or Nano Banana in the Gemini app. This model allows users to perform highly realistic and seamless photo manipulations such as blurring backgrounds, removing or adding objects, and removing or adding colors based on text prompts.
Other popular nano banana prompts allow users to create 3D anime, manga, or mecha figurine photos that look like they were professionally printed. Additionally, users can generate AI-generated photos of themselves hugging their younger selves. Many nano banana users also retouch old photos, make color corrections to newer ones, or practically experiment with intriguing haircuts and clothing by uploading their images.
The resulting images have been shared on various social media platforms such as Instagram, X, Facebook, and even LinkedIn.
“The nano banana craze has officially swept the world, with over 500 million images created worldwide since launch,” Google said in a blog post.
Google is positioning the nano banana in a broader direction to improve accessible editing through prompt workflows. In the Gemini app, users can describe changes and receive results in about 25 seconds, eliminating the need for traditional editing skills. The model excels at targeting specific elements while leaving unedited areas untouched, supporting both casual users and professionals.
Privacy controls allow users to manage their data through a “My Activity” section that allows them to keep activity, mute, delete all history, or remove certain prompts and images. For one-off, off-the-record sessions, there’s an “incognito” or temporary chat mode that offers granular control without having to dig into settings.
Google said that content provenance and security are reinforced by using a watermark that is both visible and invisible on generated or edited images. Multiple security filters run on each image to eliminate results that violate guidelines.
Published – September 16, 2025 03:12 PM IST