Google Meet is now free for everyone. As part of the video conferencing land rush begun by Zoom, Google has moved Google Meet out of its paid, premium tier and made it available to consumers and professionals alike.
In the same way rival Facebook Messenger Rooms require you to belong to Facebook to launch a new Room, Google Meet requires users to have a Google account, such as a Gmail email address. The free tier also limits users to 60 minutes, though the company said it won’t enforce it until after September 30.
Zoom Dominance Stripped Off As Google Meet Becomes Free
There is a bit of a catch: Google isn’t allowing everyone to create meetings immediately. “Everyone that uses Meet must have a secure and reliable experience from the start, so beginning next week, we’ll be gradually expanding its availability to more and more people over the following weeks,” according to a blog post by Javier Soltero, the Google vice president in charge of G Suite, and by extension, Meet. In other words, Google will ask users to sign up and then be notified that the service is online.
As of June 17, Google has now added Meet capabilities to meet.google.com. Google has also added Meet to the Web version of Gmail, as well as the Android and iOS apps, too.
Secure Zoom?
In the meantime, Google’s touting the security of its Google Meet platform, the wedge that rivals are attempting to hammer between Zoom and its startling expansion to over 300 million users. According to Soltero, Reuters reported that Google Meet hosts 100 million participants daily. Ericsson, Daimler, and some schools have banned Zoom, citing security concerns.
Soltero wrote that Google Meet’s insistence on using a Google account makes it more secure. Meet data is encrypted by default. Links to join participants in meetings are complex, making them harder to guess and “bomb” with unwanted participants. Organizers also have strong controls that allow them to mute, eject, or deny entry to specific participants.
Users can go to meet.google.com (or use Google Calendar) to set up a meeting or download the iOS or Android app. Just a week ago, Google added a 16-person “gallery view,” aping Zoom’s own layout that allows you to see all of the call’s callers at once.
Google will maintain Google Meet’s paid tier, and G Suite customers who are paying for G Suite and, by extension, Meet will receive added perks: free access to advanced features like live-streaming to up to 100,000 customers, additional Meet licenses, and free G Suite Essentials. Google said the latter is a new, paid service for accessing more advanced features such as dial-in phone numbers and meeting recording. The company said it will require a consultation with a Google salesperson to enable it.
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