Google Meet will now allow you to use custom backgrounds during video calls

Google is showcasing custom backgrounds for its Meet video conferencing platform, the company said in a blog post. If you’re using Meet in Google’s Chrome browser, you should be able to access the feature in Chrome OS as well as Windows and Mac laptops and desktops. The feature “will be available soon” on mobile, according to Google.

No browser extension is needed to enable custom backgrounds; you should be able to add a background image from your own photo collection or an image library provided by Google that includes landscapes, abstract art, and (for whatever reason) office space.

Google

It can take up to a week before all Google Meet users can access the new custom background option, the company says.

Competitive video conferencing services Microsoft Teams and Zoom already allow the use of custom images for meeting backgrounds. All three have added new features as more people depend on video calls for work and for going home during the pandemic; In recent months, Meet has added a blur effect for meeting backgrounds, and introduced real-time captioning, low-light mode, manual lifting, and a mosaic view (Brady’s giant screen Bunch) which displays up to 49 people.

Google integrated Meet with Gmail in May, adding a sidebar link and making meetings of up to 100 people with no time limit available to anyone with a Google Account.

In his third quarter earnings call Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Meet had 235 million daily meetings and more than 7.5 billion daily video calls.