Ever wondered if you could hide specific people during virtual work meetings whom you find annoying or distracting? Well, now you can do so as Google has added the ability to turn off individual video feeds during Google Meet video calls. This adds to the existing list of Google Meet features announced this year, including interoperability with Zoom and sharing presented content.
The feature is available to all Google Workspace users on the web version and mobile devices. To turn off a video feed, click on the three-dot menu in front of a user"s name in the People panel, then click on the Don"t Watch option. After that, you can click on Start Watching to resume the feed again.
Google says that this feature can"t be controlled by admins. And rest assured because Google Meet won"t notify the concerned user or anyone else when you disable a particular video feed, it goes without saying that the changes you make will only apply to your Google Meet screen.
The feature has started rolling out in a phased manner and it might take up to two weeks to reach all devices. So, you might have to wait for some time if it"s not visible on your device right now. Alternatively, you can choose the "Audio only" option if you are on a mobile device, which will turn off all video feeds except the ones presenting content.