India leads the way on Google’s Nano Banana with a local creative twist

Since its launch last month, Google's Nano Banana image-generation model, officially named Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, has gained significant traction across the globe. In India, however, it has sparked a creative revolution of its own, with retro-inspired portraits and local trends going viral, even amidst growing concerns regarding privacy and safety. India has emerged as the leading country in Nano Banana usage, as highlighted by David Sharon, the multimodal generation lead for Gemini Apps at Google DeepMind, during a recent media briefing. The model's increasing popularity has catapulted the Gemini app to the top of the free app charts in India on both the App Store and Google Play, with global rankings reflecting a similar trend, according to data from Appfigures. As the world’s second-largest smartphone market and with the second-largest online population following China, India's adoption of this AI technology is not surprising. What is particularly noteworthy, however, is the unique and innovative ways in which millions of Indians are interacting with the AI model. One of the most striking trends is the resurgence of 1990s Bollywood aesthetics, where users recreate vintage looks, complete with the quintessential fashion, hairstyles, and makeup of that era. Another captivating trend emerging from India is the “AI saree,” where individuals generate old-fashioned portraits of themselves clad in traditional attire. Additionally, users have been creatively generating selfies against backdrops of iconic landmarks, including Big Ben and classic British telephone booths. Sharon remarked, "We observed a lot of this in the initial phase." Indian users are also pushing the boundaries of creativity with Nano Banana by transforming everyday objects, creating time-travel effects, and even envisioning themselves as retro postage stamps. Others have taken to generating black-and-white portraits or visualizing nostalgic encounters with their younger selves. While some of these trends may have originated elsewhere, India has played a pivotal role in amplifying their global reach. For instance, the figurine trend, which began in Thailand and spread to Indonesia, gained notoriety worldwide after becoming popular in India. In addition to Nano Banana, Google has noted that Indian users are increasingly utilizing its Veo 3 AI video-generation model on the Gemini app. Many are crafting short videos from old photographs of their ancestors, further contributing to the app's surge in popularity. Between January and August, Gemini averaged 1.9 million monthly downloads in India—55% higher than in the U.S.—and accounted for 16.6% of global monthly downloads, as per exclusive data shared with TechCrunch. As of August, downloads in India totaled 15.2 million, outpacing the U.S., which saw 9.8 million downloads this year. Following the Nano Banana update, daily downloads in India skyrocketed, peaking at 414,000 on September 13, marking a staggering 667% increase. The Gemini app has maintained its top position on both the iOS App Store and Google Play since early September. Despite leading in downloads, India does not dominate in-app purchases on the Gemini app, which has generated approximately $6.4 million globally on iOS since its release. The U.S. leads with $2.3 million in consumer spending, while India contributes around $95,000. Notably, India experienced an 18% month-over-month growth in spending, surpassing the global increase of 11% during the same period. Nevertheless, there are emerging concerns about privacy, particularly regarding the uploading of personal images by users. In addressing these issues, Sharon emphasized Google's commitment to user safety, stating, "When a user requests something, we aim to fulfill that request without making assumptions about their intent." To enhance security, Google has implemented a visible watermark on images created with the Nano Banana model and incorporates a hidden marker using its SynthID tool to identify AI-generated content. This tool enables Google to detect and flag images created with its models. Moving forward, Sharon indicated that Google is testing a detection platform with trusted testers and researchers, with plans to launch a consumer-facing version to help users identify AI-generated images. He concluded, "This is still day one, and we are learning together, relying on feedback from users, the press, academics, and experts to make improvements."