Google Gemini’s ‘Nano Banana’ Trend Goes Viral: Users Recreate Photos With Deceased Loved Ones

Google Gemini’s Nano Banana image editor has already fueled multiple viral trends — from 3D figurines to the AI saree look. Now, a more emotional use of the tool is spreading across Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Users are generating AI-powered portraits with late family members and loved ones, sparking heartfelt reactions online.

🌟 What Is the Emotional ‘Nano Banana’ Trend?

The new trend allows people to upload photos of themselves along with images of loved ones who have passed away. With the right AI prompts, Gemini Nano Banana blends the two images, producing a lifelike, Polaroid-style photo that feels like a real captured memory.

Unlike earlier playful trends, this one is deeply personal — helping users virtually reconnect with family members and friends they miss the most.

📝 Prompts Netizens Are Using

Many users are openly sharing the exact prompts they used. For example:

Instagram user @_stutiii.s recreated a picture with her late grandmother using this prompt:

“Take a picture with a Polaroid camera. The photo should look like a normal photo, without any clear subjects or props. Add a slight blur effect with consistent lighting, as if from a flash in a dark room. Do not alter the faces. Replace the background with a white curtain. Position my grandma on the right and me on the left, hugging, both smiling and looking into the camera.”

Another user wrote a similar prompt to generate an image with his late father:

“Take a Polaroid-style photo. The picture should look ordinary, with a slight blur and soft flash lighting. Don’t change our faces. Replace the background with white curtains. Create a warm pose of me and my dad together, both smiling naturally.”

These AI-generated pictures are now widely circulating on social media, drawing both admiration and emotional comments.

📌 Step-by-Step: How to Try the Trend Yourself

• Download and open the Google Gemini app.
• Sign in with your Google account.
• Upload two images — one of yourself and one of your late loved one.
• Copy and paste a prompt like the ones above (or customize your own).
• Wait a few seconds for the AI to generate the final image.
• Users can also tweak prompts for more personalized results — adjusting lighting, background, or poses.

💬 Social Media Reactions

These edits are going viral not just because of their creativity, but because of their emotional impact. For many, it feels like a chance to hold on to a memory or imagine moments that never had the chance to exist in real life.

While some praise the tool for helping people heal, others caution that such edits can also be bittersweet or overwhelming.