Google Meet video conferencing is now free for anybody

Google is opening up its Google Meet video conferencing service to anybody who wants to use it, instead of just offering it to enterprise and education customers via G Suite. The company says anybody with a Google account will now be able to create free meetings of up to 100 people that can last any amount of time — though after September 30th it may restrict meeting length to 60 minutes.

Meet, the search engine giant’s very own video conferencing service, was previously only available as a premium product. It seems that Google changed their mind after looking at the surge in demand for video communication tools.

The safe and secure service has been at its peak this year, to say the least. This month alone, Meet hosted 3 billion minutes of video meetings. To add on, they also receive around 3 million new users on a daily basis.

Earlier, the Meet app had required a Google business or education account to set up calls, essentially it suite software. But now, Going forward, Meet is available to anyone for free on the web and via mobile apps for iOS or Android. And if you use Google Calendar, you’ll be able to easily start or join from there, too.

While Google has long offered free versions of business tools including Gmail and Google Docs, there has been no equivalent for Meet, a newer service launched three years ago.

“Starting in early May, anyone with an email address can sign up for Meet and enjoy many of the same features available to our business and education users, such as simple scheduling and screen sharing, real-time captions, and layouts that adapt to your preference, including an expanded tiled view.,”

In case you do not receive the update, you can also sign up here to get notified when your account can gain gains access.

Google also laid out a number of default privacy protections in place with Meet, including host controls (like the ability to admit or deny entry to a meeting, and mute or remove participants), complex meeting codes and encryption in transit. This seems to be taking aim at Zoom, which saw a massive surge in users after the coronavirus lockdowns and quarantines started — but has recently faced a number of security issues, including uninvited guests “Zoombombing” meetings.

How to use Google Meet, free

To sign up for the free version of Google Meet, go to the Google Meet page. Enter your name, email, country and primary use for Google Meet (personal, business, education or government). Agree to Google’s terms of service, and hit Submit. You’ll get a notification when the service is ready for you to use.

Once it’s available, here’s how to use the free version of Google Meet:

1. Go to meet.google.com (or, open the app on iOS or Android, or start a meeting from Google Calendar).

2. Click Start new meeting, or enter your meeting code.

3. Choose the Google account you want to use.

4. Click Join Meeting. You’ll have the ability to add others to your meeting, too.

And that’s it! Happy video chatting.

How is Google Meet Safe?

Well, to reassure skeptical customers that their data and information will remain safe and private, Google shared several measures that they’re taking with this new launch.

Some of them include requiring a complex meeting code, requiring a google account so ‘anonymous’ users cannot enter, providing a strong set of host controls, and more.

Other than consumers, Google has also created solutions for a variety of stakeholders: groups and teams, businesses and organizations, & schools and educational institutes.

They will be providing ‘G Suite Essentials’ for “teams that need access to Meet’s more advanced features, such as dial-in phone numbers, larger meetings, and meeting recording.

G Suite Essentials also includes Google Drive for easy and secure access to all of a team’s content and Docs, Sheets, and Slides for content creation and real-time collaboration.”