Google Meet Adds New Filters and AR Masks For Younger Audience

Google Meet, a video calling platform for iOS and Android, just added additional video filters, effects, and augmented reality masks for personal calls. The new features are accessible via the sparkling button at the bottom right of the video feed during a call, which pulls up a carousel of different effects, including color filters and animated AR face effects, according to a tweet from Google on 7th July.

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The majority of the options are only accessible for personal Gmail accounts, whereas Workspace users have limited options like blurring and virtual background options.

After Google made Meet free to personal Google accounts last year, the addition of video effects is the latest example of Meet’s shift away from enterprise and business customers and toward consumers in general.

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The filters are quite similar to those that Google’s consumer-focus Duo video chat service offers. 9to5Google says they’ll be accessible soon. Google has previously stated that it intends to replace Duo with Meet in the future.

In June, Google made a few minor changes to its Google Meet app. After noticing a growing interest in live streams, the company added the feature to add captions to them. The ability to raise hands and switch to the main grid are other new features.

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And, while these new Google Meet filters aren’t a game-changer in terms of features; it’s clear that Google is aiming Meet as the default video conferencing software for the masses. However, the company will encounter competition because Zoom already controls a significant portion of the market.