While the ability to host massive meetings using Google Meet used to be a feature only paying G Suite members could access, apparently people would rather use a free version of basically the same app. Who would have thought, right? Consumers are just soooooo difficult to predict!

So you might not know this but Google actually has its own video chat service. Weird, right? Given how many of Google’s apps we use every day, you’d think you’d have used it by now. The thing is that unlike many other video chat services, Google Meet was locked behind a paywall. G Suit, the host of features that Googles offers as productivity software for enterprises and educators, is something you obviously have to pay to access. Yet that all changes today as Google Meets is now free to use for all individuals!

So what does Google Meet do that Zoom doesn’t? Well, up until 30 September 2020, you’ll be able to host meetings of up to 100 people that can last for any amount of time. After September, Google says it will most likely restrict the time to 60 minutes, which is fine, actually. It’ll prevent that one shareholder from dragging on and on and on. On the security side, your meetings should be more secure using Google Meet given that every participant in the call will need to be logged into their Google account, meaning that you won’t be able to just click on a link and join. People who try to enter the call who don’t have an invite in their Google calendar will be entered into a “green room” where the host can either approve or reject their entrance.

So what about Hangouts Chat? That video chat service that was incorporated into Google Hangouts? Well, that’s being absorbed into Meet too, a transition that will be conducted over the next few months. Google’s plan for this is to consolidate their video chat apps into a single platform instead of drawing a line between consumer and enterprise use. Hey, if that means one less shortcut cluttering up our tabs on Chrome, we’re all for that.

The big thing that Google is pushing is the security of Meets over it’s current main competitor Zoom which has recently been ravaged by security leaks and threats. Yet while the previously unknown, at least to us, video chat app has managed to capture the fervour of the global pandemic, Google has a long way to catch up. Still, it’s Google. At some point they’ll own everything.

(Source: The Verge)