Google is adding an extra layer of privacy to its Meet video conferencing service in an effort to protect users in the education sector from intrusion by uninvited users. The search giant announced today that Meet will prevent anonymous users from joining video conferences organized by schools and universities.
The new feature will block potential interruption from people who are not signed into a Google account. That means students, for example, will no longer be able to share a link to their Meet conferences publicly in an attempt to invite anonymous users to request access and join meetings. This type of distraction rose to prominence during the height of Zoom's privacy issues, an incident referred to as "zoombombing".
Meet's latest update comes in handy especially as many schools are still holding classes online amid the pandemic, often with the risk of being disrupted by pranksters. Customers with G Suite for Education or G Suite Enterprise for Education licenses have access to Meet's new privacy feature starting today, with the rollout expected to culminate in the next two weeks. It will also be turned on by default, so users don't need to do anything to get started. Of course, there's an option to disable this feature.
