Google’s Nano Banana Image generation model, officially known as the Flash Gemini 2.5 image, has fueled the overall momentum for the Gemini application since its launch last month. But in India, he has taken on a creative life that is clean, with retro portraits and local trends becoming viral – even if problems of intimacy and security are starting to emerge.
India has become country 1 in terms of use of Nano Banana, according to David Sharon, leader of the multimodal generation for Gemini applications in Google Deepmind, which spoke during a media session this week. The popularity of the model also propelled the Gemini application at the top of free applications graphics on the App Store and Google Play in India. The application has also climbed to the top of the global tables of application stores, according to Appfigures.
Given the India scale – the second world market for smartphones and the second largest online population after China – it is not surprising that the country leads to adoption. But what attracts Google’s attention is not only the number of people who use Nano Banana is how: millions of Indians engage with the AI model in a unique local, very creative and, in some cases, completely unexpected.
One of the most remarkable trends is the Indians using Nano Banana to recreate retro looks inspired by Bollywood from the 1990s, imagining how they could have appeared at that time, with a specific fashion for the period, hairstyles and makeup. This trend is local in India, Sharon told journalists.
A variation in the retro trend is what some call the “Saree ai”, where users generate vintage style portraits of themselves carrying a traditional Indian outfit.
Another local trend in India is people who generate their selfies in front of urban landscapes and emblematic monuments, such as Big Ben and retro phone cabins in the United Kingdom.
“We saw a lot at the start,” said Sharon.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
|
October 27-29, 2025
Indian users also experience Nano Banana to transform objects, create time travel effects and even reinvent themselves as retro postal stamps. Others generate black and white portraits or use the model to view meetings with their youngest.
Some of these trends are not from India, but the country has played a key role by helping them attract global attention. An example is the trend of figurine, where people generate miniature versions of themselves, often placing them in front of a computer screen. The trend appeared for the first time in Thailand, has spread to Indonesia and became global after gaining ground in India, said Sharon.
In addition to Nano Banana, Google has observed a trend where Indian users use its VEO 3 video generation model on the Gemini application to create short videos from old photos of their grandparents and great-grandparents.
All of this helped stimulate Gemini’s popularity on the App Store and Google Play in India. Between January and August, the application experienced an average of 1.9 million monthly downloads in the country – around 55% higher than in the United States – representing 16.6% of world monthly downloads, according to appfigures shared exclusively with TechCrunch.
Downloads in India totaled 15.2 million this year until August; The United States, however, has had 9.8 million downloads so far this year, according to appfigures data.
Daily downloads of the Gemini application in India increased considerably after the publication of the Nano Banana update, from September 1 with 55,000 installations in the two application stores. Downloads culminated at 414,000 on September 13 – an increase of 667% – the Gemini holding the first global place of the iOS App Store since September 10 and on Google Play since September 12, including all categories, the appfigures data show.
Despite India’s management in downloads, the country does not exceed integrated purchases on the Gemini application, which has generated around $ 6.4 million in world consumption expenditure on iOS since the launch, according to appfigures. The United States represents the largest part with $ 2.3 million (35%), while India contributes to $ 95,000 (1.5%). However, India posted record growth of 18% per month of spending, reaching $ 13,000 between September 1 and 16 – compared to a global increase of 11% during the same period. This puts India at seven percentage points above the world rate and more than 17 points ahead of the United States, where growth was less than 1%.
That said, as for other AI applications, there are concerns about users who download personal photos to Gemini to transform their appearance.
“When a user asks us to make their request, we make our best to make this request. We do not try to assume the intention of the user,” said Sharon while answering questions on how Google deals with problems of improper use and confidentiality between users in India and other main markets. “We really tried to improve this, and we improved this to be daring and respond to your request.”
Google places a visible diamond -shaped watermark on the images generated by the Nano Banana model and also incorporates a hidden marker using its synthetic tool to identify the content generated by the AI. Synthid allows Google to detect and point out whether an image has been created using its models.
Sharon told journalists that Google is testing a detection platform with trusted testers, researchers and other experts. The company also plans to launch a consumer oriented version which would allow anyone to check if an image is generated by the AI.
“It’s always the first day, and we are still learning, and we learn together. There are things we could need to improve in the future, and it is really your user comments, the press, the academic world and experts who help us improve,” said Sharon.
