The arrival of Facebook Rooms for billions of users around the world has made known the video call services that dominated the market during the first weeks of the COVID 19 epidemic. Google Meet, one of the most used services with Zoom and Microsoft Teams, immediately announced an enormous innovation.
Starting next week, Google Meet will be free for everyone. You no longer need a G Suite account, only an individual Gmail account to use Google Meet for free and without restrictions.
If Zoom sticks to free accounts despite the growing competition for the 40-minute video call for free accounts – just start immediately after a second video call for 40 minutes and so on, but it’s still a nuisance that many do not willing to accept, especially given the increasing proliferation of alternatives – Google Meet allows meetings and video calls that can last up to 24 hours, at least for the first period.
Google’s idea is to extend the free Google Meet service to all users and set a limit of 60 minutes for each video call. However, this limit, which marks the consumer version of Google Meet, will not take effect until September 30, 2020, when it is hoped that the emergency has returned in much of the world.
Until then and from the first days of May, anyone with a Gmail account can access Google Meet and organize meetings with up to 100 participants and a maximum of 24 hours.
Google announced the decision based on an unprecedented milestone: despite its current configuration, Google Meet is growing by 3 million new users every day. If you turn on the taps and allow all Gmail users to access the service, these numbers increase exponentially, so non-professional users cannot access competing services directly from Facebook Messenger.
Free access to Google Meet for Gmail users will be gradually guaranteed from the beginning of May with all the functions already available and with access via browsers and official applications that those who already use Google Meet know.
