Video conferencing has been a staple for everything from corporate meetings to remote classes since the COVID-19 pandemic kicked in. Google Meet has been one of the popular video conferencing options among consumers, and the ability to hide or change your background with a custom image was a nifty addition to the service last year.
Today, that feature has gained an expansion as Google announced that the ability to blur or replace video chat backgrounds in Meet is available on Android. Prior to today"s update, you could change your background only on desktop. Now, you can choose to customize your background with various images curated by Google itself including office spaces, landscapes, and abstract photos.
It should be noted that you can choose only from Google"s hand-picked photos; the ability to select your personal or custom images as your background will roll out soon. For iOS users, Google will introduce support for background replacement in the future as well.
The feature is a great way to hide your messy surroundings or show more of your personality, Google noted. Keep in mind that you"ll need to manually switch the feature on to start using it. It"s available from today to all Workspace and G Suite Basic/Business customers.