Google’s Nano Banana image-generation mannequin, formally referred to as Gemini 2.5 Flash Picture, has fueled international momentum for the Gemini app since launching final month. However in India, it has taken on a inventive lifetime of its personal, with retro portraits and native traits going viral — at the same time as privateness and security issues start to emerge.
India has emerged because the No. 1 nation when it comes to Nano Banana utilization, in line with David Sharon, multimodal technology lead for Gemini Apps at Google DeepMind, who spoke at a media session this week. The mannequin’s recognition has additionally propelled the Gemini app to the highest of the free app charts on each the App Retailer and Google Play in India. The app has additionally climbed to the highest of world app shops’ charts, in line with Appfigures.
Given India’s scale — the world’s second-largest smartphone market and second-biggest on-line inhabitants after China — it’s no shock the nation is main in adoption. However what’s catching Google’s consideration isn’t just how many individuals are utilizing Nano Banana, it’s how: Tens of millions of Indians are participating with the AI mannequin in methods which are uniquely native, extremely inventive, and in some instances, utterly sudden.
One of many standout traits is Indians utilizing Nano Banana to re-create retro appears to be like impressed by Nineteen Nineties Bollywood, imagining how they could have appeared throughout that period, full with period-specific vogue, hairstyles, and make-up. This development is native to India, Sharon informed reporters.
A variation of the retro development is what some are calling the “AI saree,” the place customers generate vintage-style portraits of themselves carrying conventional Indian apparel.
One other development native to India is folks producing their selfies in entrance of cityscapes and iconic landmarks, akin to Huge Ben and the U.Okay.’s retro phone cubicles.
“We noticed quite a lot of that at first,” Sharon stated.
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Indian customers are additionally experimenting with Nano Banana to rework objects, create time-travel results, and even reimagine themselves as retro postage stamps. Others are producing black-and-white portraits or utilizing the mannequin to visualise encounters with their youthful selves.
A few of these traits didn’t originate in India, however the nation performed a key position in serving to them achieve international consideration. One instance is the figurine development, the place folks generate miniature variations of themselves, usually inserting them in entrance of a pc display. The development first emerged in Thailand, unfold to Indonesia, and have become international after gaining traction in India, Sharon stated.
Along with Nano Banana, Google has noticed a development the place Indian customers are using its Veo 3 AI video-generation mannequin on the Gemini app to create brief movies from outdated pictures of their grandparents and great-grandparents.
All of this has helped drive Gemini’s recognition on each the App Retailer and Google Play in India. Between January and August, the app noticed a mean of 1.9 million month-to-month downloads within the nation — about 55% increased than within the U.S. — accounting for 16.6% of world month-to-month downloads, per Appfigures information shared solely with TechCrunch.
India downloads have totaled 15.2 million this yr till August; the U.S., however, has had 9.8 million downloads to this point this yr, per Appfigures information.
Every day downloads of the Gemini app in India considerably surged following the discharge of the Nano Banana replace, starting on September 1 with 55,000 installs throughout each app shops. Downloads peaked at 414,000 on September 13 — a 667% enhance — with Gemini holding the highest total spot on the iOS App Retailer since September 10 and on Google Play since September 12, together with throughout all classes, Appfigures information exhibits.
Regardless of India main in downloads, the nation doesn’t high in-app purchases on the Gemini app, which has generated an estimated $6.4 million in international shopper spending on iOS since launch, per Appfigures. The U.S. accounts for the biggest share at $2.3 million (35%), whereas India contributes $95,000 (1.5%). Nevertheless, India posted a document 18% month-over-month progress in spending, reaching $13,000 between September 1 and 16 — in comparison with an 11% international enhance throughout the identical interval. That places India seven proportion factors above the worldwide charge and greater than 17 factors forward of the U.S., the place progress was beneath 1%.
That stated, as with different AI apps, there are issues about customers importing private pictures to Gemini to rework their look.
“When a person asks us to satisfy their question, we do our greatest to satisfy that question. We don’t attempt to assume what the person’s intent is,” Sharon stated whereas addressing questions on how Google is coping with information misuse and privateness issues amongst customers in India and different high markets. “We’ve actually tried to enhance that, and we have now improved that to be daring and fulfil your request.”
Google locations a visual, diamond-shaped watermark on photos generated by the Nano Banana mannequin and in addition embeds a hidden marker utilizing its SynthID software to establish AI-generated content material. SynthID permits Google to detect and flag whether or not a picture was created utilizing its fashions.
Sharon informed reporters that Google is testing a detection platform with trusted testers, researchers, and different specialists. The corporate additionally plans to launch a consumer-facing model that might enable anybody to examine whether or not a picture is AI-generated.
“That is nonetheless day one, and we’re nonetheless studying, and we’re studying collectively. There are issues that we’d want to enhance on sooner or later, and it’s actually your suggestions from customers, press, academia, and specialists that helps us enhance,” Sharon stated.
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