Gemini's viral saree trend: How to protect your photos online?
What's the story
The "vintage saree" AI trend, powered by Google's Gemini Nano Banana (or Gemini 2.5 Flash Image), has taken over Instagram in India. The tool transforms regular selfies into stylized portraits, often with retro sarees and old-Bollywood-inspired backgrounds. However, this fun digital dress-up trend is raising privacy concerns. Experts urge users to be careful with what they upload and to safeguard their photos online.
Information
Potential risks of using AI image tools
The widespread use of AI image tools could pose hidden privacy and security risks. Plus, the terms of service for these models allow user-uploaded images to be used for model training and improvement, something many users may not fully understand when sharing their photos online.
Data protection
How Google's tool addresses such issues
Gemini's Nano Banana tool embeds an invisible digital watermark, SynthID, into the images it creates or edits. This watermark is accompanied by metadata tags to mark the content as AI-generated. The company claims that all images processed with Gemini 2.5 Flash Image come with this invisible SynthID digital watermark to identify them as AI-generated and ensure transparency for users.
Online safety
Tips to keep your pictures safe
To keep your photos safe from misuse, experts recommend being selective about what you upload. It is advised to post only those photos you're comfortable with being public. You should also remove GPS coordinates and other embedded info before uploading. Reviewing each platform's privacy options is crucial so that only the audience you choose can view or download your photos. Keeping an untouched backup of original files on your own drive can also help prove ownership in case of misuse.