Tag Archives: Google Meet

Use new immersive backgrounds and styles for Google Meet on the web

Quick launch summary

We’re adding five new immersive backgrounds for Google Meet on the web. The backgrounds feature subtle animation that give your background life or change your lighting. Cafe and condo interiors will have various iterations, such as snowy or rainy weather, which will help dispersed teams better represent their current time zone and climate. 

Various lighting and weather effects will be available



Additionally, we’re giving you more options to customize your video with various light and color filters and more stylised backgrounds.



The new backgrounds and styles are available on Google Meet on the web and can be added before joining a call or during a call using the recently launched effects settings panel.  


Getting started


Rollout pace

  • Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout to eligible devices (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on November 17, 2021
  • Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout to eligible devices (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 2, 2021

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers
  • This feature is not available to users with personal Google Accounts


Host Google Meet meetings with up to 500 participants

Quick launch summary 

For select Google Workspace editions, users can now host meetings in Google Meet with up to 500 participants. See below for more information on availability.

500 participants in a meeting


We hope that by increasing the meeting size, it will be easier to connect and collaborate with your colleagues, clients, and customers. 


Getting started

  • Admins: No action required.
  • End users: No action required. The new participant limits will occur automatically for all meetings in your domain. If you need to host an even larger meeting, you can enable live streaming, allowing up to 100,000 viewers to watch at once.

Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, and Education Plus customers
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, Nonprofits, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, or G Suite Basic and Business customers
Visit the Help Center to learn more about the participant limits for other Google Workspace editions.


Resources


Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – November 5, 2021

New updates 

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers.


Updated emoji experience in Google Chat on iOS
It’s now easier to express yourself more authentically in Chat on iOS. We’re making the following updates to the emoji experience: The Emoji set is updated to the latest version (Emoji 13.1), reflecting the latest emoji set and diversity and inclusion options; Gender-neutral options for gender-modifiable emojis have been added; Emoji skin tone and gender preferences are saved per individual emoji. | Available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers, as well as users with personal Google accounts.


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


More easily add citations in Google Docs with new search and automated entry function
When adding citations in Google Docs, you can now search for books and online sources, then automatically populate some attributes for those sources.  | Learn more.



Refine search results in Google Drive with search chips, launching in beta
We’re launching a new beta for Google Drive that will help users refine their search and locate files faster using search chips. This beta will be available for all Google Workspace editions—eligible customers can use this form to express interest in the beta. | Learn more.



Enable advanced context-aware access to Google Workspace in the Admin console
You can now configure context-aware access (CAA) custom access levels using advanced attributes directly from the Google Workspace Admin console. You can use more advanced signals such as time/date restrictions, credential strength, Chrome browser attributes or verified ChromeOS as well as third-party signals via BeyondCorp Alliance partners. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus. Also available to Cloud Identity Premium customers. | Learn more.



Google Workspace Client-side encryption beta expanded to include Google Meet and Google Drive for desktop
We’re now expanding the client-side encryption beta to include desktop data for Google Meet and Google Drive. Additionally, key access service APIs are now publicly available for anyone to use. Lastly, we are adding two new Key access service partners (Fortanix, Stormshield) for customers looking for a dedicated partner that integrates with the key access service APIs. | Learn more.



For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Google Workspace Client-side encryption beta expanded to include Google Meet and Google Drive for desktop

What’s changing 

Earlier this year, we announced the beta for Google Workspace Client-side encryption, specifically for Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, with support for all file types in Drive including Office files, PDFs, and more. 

We’re now expanding the beta to include desktop data for Google Meet and Google Drive. Additionally, key access service APIs are now publicly available for anyone to use. 

Encryption notice in Meet

Encryption notice in Meet

Lastly, we are adding two new Key access service partners (Fortanix, Stormshield) for customers looking for a dedicated partner that integrates with the key access service APIs. Previously, we had announced key service partnerships with Flowcrypt, FutureX, Thales and Virtru. 

The beta is available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus and Google Workspace Education Plus customers—eligible customers can now apply for the beta here. Important note: Customers who are already participating in the beta will have to reapply for access to the Google Meet and functionality, but you will be able to reuse your key service configuration. 

Who’s impacted 

Admins and developers 

Why it’s important 

Google Workspace already uses the latest cryptographic standards to encrypt all data at rest and in transit between our facilities. With Client-side encryption, we’re taking this a step further by giving customers direct control of encryption keys and the identity provider used to access those keys. This can help you strengthen the confidentiality of your data while helping to address a broad range of data sovereignty and compliance needs. 

When using Client-side encryption, customer data is indecipherable to Google. Customers can create a fundamentally stronger privacy posture to comply with regulations like ITAR and CJIS or simply to better protect the privacy of their confidential data 

Read our announcement post to learn more about this beta and our plans for Client-side encryption across Google Workspace. 

Additional details 

If you are looking to choose a key service access partner, Flowcrypt, Fortanix, Futurex, Stormshield, Thales, and Virtru have built tools in accordance with Google’s specifications and provide both key management and access control capabilities. Your partner of choice holds the key to decode encrypted Google Workspace files, and Google cannot access or decipher these files without this key. 

If you prefer to build or integrate your own in-house key services, we have published the key access service API specifications that can be used with Client-side encryption. 

Getting started 

Availability 

  • Available to Enterprise Plus and Education Plus customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers. 

Resources 

Google Meet meeting hosts now have more control of participant’s audio and video feeds for smoother, more productive meetings

What’s changing 

Meeting hosts in Google Meet can now use Audio and Video Lock to turn off the microphones and/or cameras of other participants in the meeting and prevent them from turning them back on until you unlock them, in the main and breakout rooms. Earlier this year, we announced the ability for meeting hosts to mute everyone all at once in Google Meet on desktops/laptop devices. The new Audio and Video lock makes this feature more useful by enabling hosts to prevent participants from unmuting themselves after they are muted. 


Host control screen

Host control screen

Who’s impacted 

End users 

Why it’s important 

This feature gives meeting hosts more control over their meetings by letting them decide when they want to allow different levels of participation from attendees, for example to address disruptive participants.

Additional details 

Participants using versions of the Android and iOS apps that do not support audio and video locks will be removed from the meeting if the host or co-host turns on either of the locks. If they attempt to join a meeting that has either of these locks enabled they will be prompted to update their app or use another device to join the meeting. Turning off audio or video locks will allow these participants to rejoin the meeting. 

The minimum supported versions are: 

Android: 

  • Android OS version M or newer 

iOS

  • iOS version 12 or newer 

Meet or Gmail app: 

  • The most updated version 

Audio or video locks, as well as chat and present locks, set by the host in the main meeting will also apply to subsequently launched breakout rooms. Once a breakout room is launched, any changes made to a lock setting in an individual room will not affect the settings of other breakout rooms or the main meeting.

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about Google Meet security & privacy for admins 
  • End users: This feature will be OFF by default. Hosts can turn it on during meetings. Host Management needs to be enabled to use these features. 

Rollout pace 

  • Rapid Release domains: / Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) / October 21, 2021 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on November 1, 2021 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, and G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

Additional support for continuous framing to more Google Meet hardware devices, available by default for all eligible devices

What’s changing

Continuous framing is a feature for Google Meet hardware devices that ensures participants are automatically framed no matter where they are in the room. We're making two updates to the feature:
  • Available on more devices: We're adding support for continuous framing on Meet-certified cameras that ship with our ASUS & Logitech room kits, specifically the Logitech PTZ Pro 2, Logitech MeetUp, and the Logitech Rally. This feature was previously only available on the Series One Room Kit Smart Camera and Smart Camera XL.
  • Available for eligible devices by default: The toggle in camera settings for continuous framing will now be available for eligible devices. Previously, it had to be enabled in the Admin console. Now, unless you've explicitly turned it off in the Admin console, it will be available as an option in the meeting room, but will be toggled off by default. See more details below.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it

Continuous framing allows in-room participants to be better represented in a hybrid meeting as it captures the speakers in the frame regardless of where they're sitting in the room. Seeing all the participants in the room up close makes it easier to:
  • Read facial expressions and body language
  • Maintain eye contact with meeting participants
  • Smoothly take turns in the conversation

Additional details

Unless you’ve already explicitly turned off the feature in the Admin console, continuous framing will be ON by default on eligible Google Meet hardware in your organization.

If you would like to turn off this feature so it is not available on an individual device, the continuous framing setting is found on the device details page. This toggle can also be modified via a bulk action on the device list page.

Getting started

  • Admins: Unless you’ve already explicitly turned off the feature, continuous framing will be ON by default on eligible Google Meet hardware in your organization. Visit the Help Center to learn more about continuous framing.
  • End users: Unless disabled by your admin, this toggle will be available on the device for all eligible meeting room cameras but will be set to OFF at the beginning of each call by default. You can turn it on in the device settings.

Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers using eligible “Meet hardware” licensed devices.

Resources

 

 

Bringing hand raising to Google Meet hardware devices

Quick launch summary 

Last year, we announced the ability to virtually raise your hand in Google Meet to enhance interaction without disrupting the flow of the conversation. We are now bringing this feature to all Google Meet hardware to help bring a more unified experience to hybrid working. 

To raise your hand on a touch controller, simply tap “Raise Hand” at the top. Once a hand is raised, the moderator and all other participants will see a list of participants in the order in which they raised their hands. 

The touch controller will also show you all other participants who raised their hand, as well as an easy way to switch back to the full participant list. 



Hand Raise on a Room Kit using a touch controller

Hand Raise on a Room Kit using a touch controller


Placed within the call controls, hand raise is easily accessible to room kits using a remote control. Simply open the participant list and click the hand raise button. If other participants raise a hand, participants and moderators in the room will see a notification as well as a badge on their video tile.



A host using Hand Raise on a Room Kit with remote control


A host using Hand Raise on a Room Kit with remote control

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be ON by default. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using hand raising in meet 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Business customers. 
  • Not available to Legacy Free, Business Starter, and Frontline. 

Resources 

Making Google Classroom video meetings easier and more secure

What’s changing 

We’ve added several new features to Google Meet in Classroom, making it easier and more secure: 
  • The Class Meet link is now accessible on the side of the class stream, so students can easily join and teachers can manage the link from the stream. 
  • Students will be directed to a waiting room until a teacher has officially joined the class Meet link. 
  • Guests not on the class roster will have to “ask to join” and be admitted by the teacher before they can participate, so no unintended participants join the meetings. 
  • All designated co-teachers for a class will automatically be co-hosts in the meeting. This moderation tool will enable co-hosts to start the meeting with the same Meet link without the class teacher needing to be present. 

Who’s impacted 

Teachers and student end users 


Why it matters

These features make it easier for teachers to manage meetings, help prevent unintended meeting participants from joining meetings, and generally help meetings run more smoothly. Overall, teachers and students will have a smoother and more secure experience while using Google Classroom and Google Meet. 


Additional details 

Please note that after a Meet link is generated, if a co-teacher is added or removed, you must regenerate the Meet link to update the host status. We are working on changing this functionality so the host status auto-updates, and hope to implement the change by the end of the year. 

You can follow this Forum post to stay updated on the progress of the rollout, get additional tips, FAQs and other useful updates on this launch. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature, but Google Meet must be turned on for these features to be available in Google Classroom. Learn more about how to set up and manage Meet and use Meet for distance learning.
  • End users: These features will be ON by default for new meetings created in Google Classroom. Users with existing class Meet links should reset the link to get this updated functionality. Visit the Help Center to learn more about starting a video meeting for education. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available as a core service to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus. 
  • Available as an additional service to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

Roadmap 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – October 1, 2021

New updates 

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers. 



New look and feel for Workspace Updates email subscriptions 
We’ve improved the look and feel of the emails you receive when you subscribe to Workspace Updates. 
  • The emails themselves will be sent from [email protected], so be sure to update any inbox filters or labels you may have and check your spam folders if you don't immediately see them. 
  • Emails for the Workspace Updates Blog in non-English markets will update to this new format in the coming weeks. 
  • If you have any feedback about these emails after September 29th, please feel back to let us know in the linked form. 
Available now | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Workspace Updates Blog Email Subscription Feedback 



Porting in Google Voice now available in Canada 
If your organization has existing phone numbers with another service provider, you can port (or move) those numbers to Google Voice in Canada. | Learn more.



Previous announcements 

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details. 



Live translated captions in Google Meet available in beta 
Launching in beta, live translated captions help video call participants communicate better by translating a spoken language to captions in another language. | Learn more here and here. | Available to meetings organized by Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Teaching & Learning Upgrade customers. | Apply to beta 



Add image watermarks in Google Docs 
You can now add image watermarks directly into Google Docs. This watermark image will repeat behind the text on every page of your document. | Learn more. 



Renaming “whitelisted domains” to “allowlisted domains” in the Admin console 
We’re updating instances of “whitelisted” in the Admin console to “allowlisted”. This change more accurately describes this action, as well as eliminates a non-inclusive term from our products. | Learn more.



Comment size increasing in Google Docs 
Comment width will intelligently scale based on your browser window to maximize the use of available screen space. | Learn more.



Replace your background with a video in Google Meet on Android 
In addition to replacing your Google Meet background with a static image on web and mobile, you can now replace your background with a video on Android. | Learn more. 



Quickly access Google Drive files in Chrome browser 
We’re adding a card onto the New Tab Page in your Chrome browser that will surface relevant files from your Google Drive, making it easier and more efficient to find the files you need. | Learn more.



View Alert Center notifications directly from the Admin console toolbar 
You can now quickly access Alert Center alerts from anywhere in the Admin console from the toolbar at top of the page. Selecting the new bell icon will surface the ten latest alerts, along with a brief description. | Learn more.



Use the “Slideshow” button in Google Slides 
We’re replacing what was previously the “Present” button in Slides to now say “Slideshow.” We hope this makes it clearer when you are beginning a slide show, and when you are sharing your screen in Meet. | Learn more. 



Review smart home devices used for work in your Admin console
Admins can now view and manage the smart displays and speakers that access work data in the Admin console, alongside other devices managed with Google endpoint management. | Learn more. 



For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Replace your background with a video in Google Meet on Android

What’s changing

In addition to replacing your Google Meet background with a static image on web and mobile, you can now replace your background with a video. At the moment, you can select from six Google made videos such as a classroom, a party, a  beach and more — more options will be available. This feature is already available on Google Meet on web and iOS.

Use a video background to make calls more fun.


Who’s impacted

Admins and end users


Why you’d use it

Custom backgrounds can help you show more of your personality, as well to help hide your surroundings to maintain privacy.  With the option of replacing your background with video, we hope this makes your video calls more fun.


Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability