With its free-to-use feature getting extended for many more months, users can now carry on with their business and online activities hassle-free on the platform without the need for a business account. (Image: Google)Amid the pandemic, as the number of infection cases doesn’t seem to ebb away and work-from-home culture along with virtual classrooms and online meetings continue to be the new normal in such uncertain times, Google has decided to extend support for its free unlimited video calling feature for 24 hours till March 31.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, Google Meet extended its feature of free group calling from G-suite access to all Gmail accounts. Earlier, Google was going to curtail the 24-hours free call facility to only for an hour after September 30, and thereafter users must have to pay for a business account to enjoy the unlimited video-calling feature. But, with its free-to-use feature getting extended for many more months, users can now carry on with their business and online activities hassle-free on the platform without the need for a business account.
Furthermore, Google Meet’s group product manager Samir Pradhan affirmed in his blogpost that as the season of holidays and festivities arrives, Meet is committed to helping those who rely upon video calls to remain in touch with siblings, for conducting family reunion, PTA meetings and weddings in coming months.
Besides that, Google has also introduced a slew of interesting features to the app. Recently, it has enabled machine learning based noise cancellation feature on all Android and iOS devices. The noise cancellation feature was previously available only for G Suite Enterprise and G Suite Enterprise for education, subscribers.
With its growing foot-print amongst video calling applications, the app has registered 100 million downloads till now. Meet has also rolled out innovative updates bringing all new background blur feature which may avoid showcasing embarrassing background of our homes. Besides that, it has also brought Chromecast support to the app along with whiteboard feature. It has also enabled Zoom-like feature of dividing participants in 49-people gallery for seamless conversation.
As reported by The Verge, Google said that it is not extending Meet’s features of hosting a 250-participant meeting along with saving of recorded videos on Google drive for the customers of G Suite for education. That means users of this platform are all set to lose access to these upgraded features.
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