Google's virtual meeting app, Google Meets, was set to end its free 24-hour call promo at the end of March. However, Google Meets announced that it will extend its promo on June 30, giving the users two more months of free service.
Google Meets to extend free calls
Google posted on their official Twitter account that for the next few months until June, anyone using the free version of the service will be able to host calls up to 24 hours in length, which Google refers to as unlimited.
This is the second time Google has pushed back the introduction of call limits since opening up the service to free users in April 2020.
According to The Verge, the 60 minute limit had originally been due to come into effect at the end of September of last year, but that deadline was eventually pushed back to March 2021 when it became obvious that many of its users would not be able to celebrate the holidays in person with their loved ones.
Google has not explicitly said why it is extending its deadline this time, but the continued pandemic restrictions in place around the world may be a factor of the change in the company's decision.
What is Google Meets?
Google Meets, also known as Google Hangouts Meet, is created to let dozens of people join the same virtual meeting, and speak or share video with each other from anywhere with stable internet connection, as per Business Insider.
The app is meant for use by businesses, organizations and colleagues who do not get to work in the same place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A Google Meet organizer can share whatever is on their screen with everyone on the call, and any participant can turn their own audio and/or their video feed off at any time and they can participate however they want, much like how a Zoom meeting operates.
Google Meets cost
As soon as the free 24 hour call is done on June 30, users will have to subscribe to the app in order to fully enjoy the service. In order to set up and host a Google Meets session, you will need to have a paid G Suite account, which costs $6 a month at its basic level.
Anyone with a standard Google account can join and participate in Google Meets meetings but G Suite has a few different membership tiers, and the more that you pay, the more people you can have on a single Google Meets call.
G Suite Basic, as noted, costs around $6 a month per user. With this subscription, you can meet with up to 25 people at once. The G Suite Business costs $12 a month per user and with this, you can meet with up to 50 people at once. While G Suite Enterprise costs $25 a month per user, and with this you can meet with up to 100 people at once.
Each G Suite tier also comes with extra Google Drive storage space and advanced data security options. There are also different versions created for schools and educators, which Google offers for free to certain institutions.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sieeka Khan
