Taking advantage of the growing popularity of video conferencing apps like Zoom, tech giant Google Inc has made its video conference app, Meet free for all the users. It is free on the web and through mobile apps for Android and iOS. The app can accommodate 100 people concurrently. Prior to this, the app was available particularly for the GSuite paid users.
"Today, we’re making Google Meet, our premium video conferencing product, free for everyone, with availability rolling out over the coming weeks," mentioned Javier Soltero, Vice President & GM, G Suite.
Alphabet-owned Google stated that starting from May, anyone having a Google account is free to sign up for Meet with access to features that were initially reserved for the education and business users. Some of these features include real-time captions, screen sharing, easy scheduling, changing layouts according to the user’s preference, and a lot more. Additionally, people using Google Calendar will be able to join too. Google has also put forward several default privacy protections like host control which enables the host to deny entry, mute, or even remove a person from the meeting.
Furthermore, Smita Hashim, the director of product for Google Meet has confirmed that the offer is permanent and will last just like Gmail. Also, starting October, the Meet app will cut free calls after an hour, unlike Skype which has no time limit.
If one does not receive an update, they can sign up to get notified as to when their account gains access to the free Meet app.
