Social media storm over Google's Nano Banana craze raises concerns about users' privacy similar to the virus that surrounded the widespread sharing of Ghibli images.
The Gemini app has seen a significant surge in popularity, with over 12.6 million downloads in September, marking a 45% increase from the previous month's cumulative total of 8.7 million. This rise in downloads, particularly in the United States where it became the number one app on the Apple App Store, can be attributed in part to the viral success of the Nano Banana image generation tool.
Since its launch, more than 500 million "Nano Banana" images have been created globally, with users creating a diverse range of images. From anime, manga, or mecha figures, retro and black-and-white portraits, to giant statues of themselves, the possibilities are endless.
The Gemini app's latest offering is the Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, also known as Nano Banana, an upgraded model that promises to give users more control over their photo editing. However, with this increased use comes potential privacy concerns.
Gemini Apps Activity automatically saves users' activity, including photos, files, and voice inputs. While free-tier services may retain user data for model improvement, this creates potential privacy risks. Data saved by Gemini can be stored, used to train Google's AI, and sometimes reviewed by human evaluators. It's important to note that sharing personal IDs, sensitive images, or confidential files increases the risk of human reviewers seeing them, and if user data is exposed or leaked, users' original photos could be made public without consent.
Google advises against submitting sensitive or personal information, as it could be used for review and training Google AI. To reduce the data footprint on AI platforms, turning off account syncing or linking can help.
It's also worth mentioning that all images created or edited in the Gemini app include a visible watermark and an invisible SynthID digital watermark. This is a measure to prevent unauthorised use of the images.
India is one of the top users of Nano Banana images, reflecting the app's global appeal. However, platforms like Gemini may not always clarify whether uploaded images are stored or used for further training, adding to the privacy concerns. Data can stay in Google's systems for up to three years longer than most people expect, which is something to consider when using such apps.
AI drawing conclusions users didn't intend is a potential risk with sharing sensitive data. It's crucial for users to be aware of the data they are sharing and the potential implications, ensuring they maintain control over their personal information.
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