- The search engine giant Google today revealed that Google’s video conferencing app mEet is now going free for all users worldwide.
The search engine giant Google today revealed that Google’s video conferencing app mEet is now going free for all users worldwide. The meet was originally released as a premium app for paying users, but due to the lockdowns enforced by many governments to counter the novel coronavirus outbreak, the app is slowly rolling out the free versions given the growing demand for video call services across the globe.
Earlier, a Google business or educational account had been required to set up calls for the Meet app, essentially for its suite software. But now, Going forward, Meet will be available to everyone on the web for free and through iOS or Android mobile apps.
And if you use the Google Calendar, you’ll still be able to launch or enter easily from there. Google lets 100 people take part in a single video call via Meet.
Although Google has long offered free versions of business resources like Gmail and Google Docs, Meet, a newer service introduced three years ago, did not have an equivalent.
The tech giant has announced in a blog post that it will slowly open Meet in the weeks ahead.
“We are making Google Meet, our premium video conferencing app, free for all today, with availability rolling out over the next few weeks,” wrote Javier Soltero, Vice President & GM, G Suite.
The post also shared that the free version of the app would be rolled out to all users in early May and that all the features previously available to paid users would be available free of charge to all.
“At the beginning of May, anyone with an email address may sign up for Meet and enjoy many of the same features that our business and educational users have at their fingertips, such as easy scheduling and screen sharing, real-time captions and templates that suit your style, including an extended tiled view.” If you don’t receive the update, you may also sign up for notification when your account is updated.
Additionally, according to Smita Hashim, product director for Google Meet, the free offer is permanent. “It will last just like Gmail,” she said. “Video conferencing has become pretty much an essential service,” she said in a Bloomberg report.
Meet calls pass through Google’s servers, allowing automated captioning, troubleshooting issues and compliance with legal requirements to share data with users. But the calls from the consumers won’t be stored. Businesses and schools will have special access to meetings and other ways to document.
However, starting in October, Meet will cut free calls after one hour compared to no time limit on Messenger and Skype and a restriction of 40 minutes on consumer zoom accounts. Free Meet calls will also be limited to no more than one host and no more than 100 participants-the same as the free edition of Zoom but above the 50 on Messenger and Skype.
