Google announced via a blog post on April 29th that the company is making Google Meet free for everyone, and anyone with an email address can sign up for it. The product is a premium video conferencing app first introduced in 2018 as Google Hangouts Meet.
Ever since COVID-19 was declared a global epidemic, video calling platforms like Google Meet, Zoom, Houseparty and Skype have started to gain millions of new users. Technology is playing a vital role in bringing people closer while maintaining social distancing in their homes.
Google claims that it has invested many years in making the platform secure and reliable for video conferencing, making it an easy alternate for platforms like Zoom, which faced a backlash from the world due to its privacy problems. The platform offers interactive tools for video conferencing like screen sharing, simple scheduling, real-time captions, layouts, and expanded viewing options.
Safety measures used by Google Meet
Google is working towards making its products more secure by taking some necessary safety measures. Google Meet passed 100 million users last week. The company claims to put the privacy and security of users before anything else. Safety measures are taken by Google to ensure this level of safety include:
- Users without Google accounts are not allowed to join meetings on Google Meet.
- It includes a robust set of Host Controls, i.e., the ability to deny requests, remove participants, mute or remove the video, etc.
- Meeting codes are complex; therefore, they cannot be “guessed.”
- Users can enroll their Google Meet account on Google’s Advanced Protection Program to ensure additional safety against account hijacking.
- User data is not sold to third-party applications, nor used for advertising.
- Google undergoes audits for all its services from time to time in order to ensure a high level of privacy.
A single app for all meetings
Users can sign up to use Google Meet via their Gmail account for hosting, or by joining any meeting on Google Meet. Meetings currently have a time limit of 60 minutes. Creating a trusted meeting space for individuals is the prime focus for Google. The app can be used to host one-on-one meetings, business conferences, educational meetings, etc.
G Suite users can enable Google Meet without any additional costs. G Suite customers can live stream up to 100,000 viewers within their domain.
The app is now available on Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.
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