Gemini AI saree trend: How to use ‘Nano Banana’ without risking digital safety

The vintage AI saree trend was also born out of the users' creativity in experimenting with the tool, leading to reimagined portraits in retro-inspired looks.

The viral vintage saree AI edits, generated by Gemini's Nano Banana model, have taken Instagram by storm. Chances are if you are on the social media platform, you have already scrolled through multiple users putting up their very own AI-generated cinematic images in a saree.

Tech companies including Google and OpenAI have offered tools to safeguard the content uploaded by users.

The AI turns ordinary photographs and selfies into 3D figurine-style portraits, or cartoon figures, successfully changing the backdrop, the outfit of the person in the photo, and even their face proportions.

The vintage AI saree trend was also born out of the users' creativity in experimenting with the tool, leading to reimagined portraits in retro-inspired looks.

However, while these trends can spark creativity and provide users with cinematic photographs in a background or outfit of their own choice, they have always triggered conversations around safety.

Tech companies including Google and OpenAI have offered tools to safeguard the content uploaded by users. Google's Nano Banana images also carry an invisible digital watermark (SynthID), plus metadata tags, so that content can be identified as AI-generated.

However, there is also a side of AI which has raised concerns. An Instagram user, names Jhalak Bhawnani, recently shared a video wherein she claimed that after she uploaded a photo of herself, the AI generated image showed a mole on her left hand, which is a real birth mark on her body. However, it was not visible in the uploaded photograph.

“How did Gemini know that I have a mole in this part of my body?” the influencer asked, calling the incident “scary” and “creepy”. Users interacting with the video were divided, with some concerned and others calling it “attention-seeking”.

While the birthmark might have been coincidence, concerns around safety when using AI have been raised continuously. Therefore, here's how you can be a part of the ‘Nano Banana’ trend while also prioritising safety.

• Strip metadata - Before you upload your photograph, which will be used as a reference by the AI for generating the vintage saree edit, make sure you remove the metadata in the picture. Remove location tags, device information etc, thus preventing the sharing of unintended information.

• Be selective in uploading images - While using AI tools, be selective about the images you are uploading for the trend. Try to avoid sensitive photographs i.e. personal or intimate pictures or ones which might carry personal identifiers.

• Customise your privacy settings - Always customise your privacy settings on apps and social media platforms, so that you can control how much you share and with whom. This also helps in controlling who views your images, thus preventing misuse of content. Publicly shared photographs can be copies, altered and taken out of context. Make sure you download Gemini and such apps from Google Play Store and other such authorised applications.

• Read privacy policies, terms and conditions - While many users prefer skipping these, it is always better to go through the privacy policies and terms and conditions while using AI. This can help you stay aware if your uploading gives the platform rights over your image, whether it can be used in model training, etc.