Google is offering Gmail users a very nice boost that couldn’t have come at a better time. The US tech firm has just announced that it’s extending its unlimited free video calls, via Google Meet, until June 30th. That means all Gmail fans can now carry on chatting online with friends and family without fear of being cut off mid-sentence.
This offer was due to end in March with a 60-minute limit then coming into force but with so many people still working and socialising from home due to the ongoing health crisis it seems Google has made the decision to help people see each other – for longer – for another few months.
Making the announcement on Twitter, Google said: “We’re continuing unlimited #GoogleMeet calls (up to 24 hours) in the free version through June 2021 for Gmail accounts.”
This update means Meet continues to beat Zoom when it comes to free calls with this Google rival only allowing users to chat for 40 minutes before being cut off.
To talk for longer on the Zoom platform you need to upgrade to a Pro account which costs £119.90 per year.
This isn’t the first time that Google has extended its video calling with an hour-long limit first due to take effect in September. This was then pushed to March 2021 and now you have until June to use it. We guess we’ll have to wait and see if Google then adds even more time to this offer.
If you weren’t already aware, Google Meet offers an easy way to chat with up to 30 friends at once without needing any extra software or plugins.
This service has been improving over the past year with Google releasing numerous features aimed at making its video calls better for users.
One big upgrade included noise cancellation which strips out any background sounds – like tapping on a keyboard, the soft hum of a desk-fan, or the rustle of a crisps packet during a mid-meeting snack.
Then Google added the option to change the background image when chatting.
In a post online Google said: “You can now replace your background with an image in Google Meet.
“You can either use Google’s hand-picked images, which include office spaces, landscapes, and abstract backgrounds, or upload your own image.”
