Google Meet video conferencing, a competitor to Zoom, is now available free for all

You probably have not heard of Google Meet until now.

And for the reason that Google has got it locked with enterprise and education customers via G Suite.

But now, the tech company is opening up its Google Meet video conferencing services to everyone who wants to use – for free.

Yes, you read that right. Google is extending this service even to users outside G Suite.

Here is how you can make use of the newly available service.

Google Meet is now available for all – for free

We have seen an increase in usage for video conferencing services over the past month or so, with Zoom being the most popular.

Also, there is Skype (which has been regarded as the OG for these types of services) and Facebook’s Messenger Rooms.

In competition with the services named above, Google is finally opening Google Meet for everyone.

According to the tech company, everyone with a Google account will be able to create free meetings of up to 100 participants that can last any amount of time.

One of the reasons why Zoom users have tremendously increased is that participants do not need a zoom account to join. However, users who only have an account can host meetings.

That is not the case with Google meeting, though.

Unlike Zoom, people won’t be able to just click on links and join a meeting. Google Meet users will need to be logged in.

This way, meetings can be better controlled by their hosts. Hopefully, so, it will eliminate the possibility of Zoombombing – where random people just enter meetings and interrupt calls.

Is Google Meet safer?

Security is one of the concerns for services like this one.

And with the security issues that Zoom has encountered – including that most recent where hackers steal Windows passwords – Google has introduced guidelines to guarantee the security of its users.

People who are not explicitly added to a meeting via a calendar invite will then be automatically directed into a green room when they want to join a meeting. They will only be let in once the host approves them.

Furthermore, the free version will also not offer landline dial-in numbers for meetings.

Google Meet is now available in both Android and iOS

If until now Google Meet still does not ring a bell, do not feel bad. The service was previously known as Hangouts Meet.

Users can now use the service at meet.google.com or through the Android and iOS apps.

The service’s free tier is unrestricted for now, but it won’t be for long. After September 30, meetings for non-G Suite accounts will be restricted to 60 minutes.

Together with the consumer availability for Meet, the tech company is unveiling a new tier for G Suite – G Suite Essentials. This new tier includes Meet and Google Drive, but not Gmail.

Lastly, Meet will be integrated into Gmail for both G Suite versions and regular consumer Gmail addresses.

Just like how Microsoft has leveraged its Office dominance to drive people to Teams, Google is also fully utilizing Gmail’s power to push its integrated conferencing app.