Software
Google Meet will now allow you to use custom backgrounds on video calls
Google is releasing custom backgrounds for its Meet video conferencing platform , the company reported in the blog post. If you are using Meet in Google's Chrome browser, you should be able to use Chrome OS tools, Windows and Mac laptops, and desktops. The functionality is "coming soon" on your mobile phone, Google says.
There is no browser extension required to enable custom backgrounds; you should be able to add background photos from your own photo collection or from a library of images supplied by Google that includes landscapes, abstract art, and (for some reason) offices.
It can take up to a week until all Google Meet users have access to a new custom context option, the company says.
Both Competing video conferencing platforms from Microsoft Teams and Zoom now allow personalized photos to be used for meeting backgrounds. The three have incorporated new features as more people rely on video calls working and schooling from home since the pandemic; in recent months, Meet has added a blurring effect for meeting backgrounds, and has launched real-time captioning, low-light mode, hand-raising and tile view (a giant Brady Bunch screen) showcasing up to 49 people.
Google Integrated Meet Gmail in May, adding a sidebar connection and allowing meetings for up to 100 participants with no time limits open to anybody with a Google Account.
In its third quarter earnings call Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Meet held had 235 million daily meetings and more than 7.5 billion video calls a day.
