We’ve seen AI-generated images taking the internet by storm over the past year or so. The introduction of Google Gemini’s Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) model took things up a notch. Sharing some of Gemini’s creations is evidently a big part of the draw for many of its users. The developers at Gemini are now working on an updated workflow for this process.
App sleuths at Android Authority have uncovered what appears to be a link-based image sharing mechanism in version 16.44.62 of the Google app. Sharing images created by Gemini currently involves long-pressing the image and tapping Share in the floating menu, which then lets you share the image directly across a multitude of apps using Android’s share menu.
But as Android Authority rightly points out, sharing images directly may not be feasible for everyone. Compression can often diminish the quality of an image, especially when shared via widely used apps like WhatsApp. The current alternative to sending images without sacrificing quality is to tap Save on the floating menu and then send the image to your contacts manually.
This new sharing mechanism may come at a cost
Current (image 1) vs upcoming link-based sharing
With this link-based sharing system, things get a lot simpler. Tapping the shared URL will take users to a dedicated page (image 3 above) that offers the familiar Share, Copy, and Save options, enabling the receiver to take additional action.
The new sharing option appears to be rolling out to Gemini through a server-side update, including on a couple of Android Authority’s devices running the stable version of the Google app. However, I’m unable to find it on my Pixel device, although that could change imminently.
While some users may undoubtedly appreciate this revised image-sharing option in Gemini, it will add a couple of steps to the existing workflow, which only takes a couple of taps to share the image via the desired app.
We suspect that Google simply wants to give users an alternative to share their Gemini creations, even if most wouldn’t find a use for something like this, given that timing is everything when it comes to sharing quirky images you’ve created on Gemini.
While one would hope this link-sharing method won’t replace the current sharing menu that lets you send images across several apps, Android Authority’s report appears to suggest that may indeed be the case. We’ll just have to wait until the feature is widely rolled out to find out for ourselves if Google wants this to serve as an alternative or a full-blown replacement.
