iOS Google Meet Gets Background Customization

Now, you can change background on iPhone too.

Online conferences in Google Meet get a new touch. From now, iPhone users can customize their background before or during a video call. There are two options to pick from: blurring the background or replacing it with one of the images available in the app’s scenery collection.

The eye-pleasing catalog includes Himalayan mountains, neon-lit Manhattan, Golden Gates, emerald forests of Bavaria, Siberian taiga, and so on. Or you can choose a picture from your own collection: an office background, a photo of your hand-crafted Zen garden, a personal favorite architecture landmark, and so forth.

The feature is there to help you outline your personality, support a message you deliver with the visual info, or just hide the messy backgrounds. (An especially sensitive issue for distanced employees). Custom backgrounds are turned off by default. To access the feature, you will need permission from your Workspace administrator.

It’s available on all iPhones that support iOS 12 or later system updates. So, that means you’ll need at least an iPhone 8.

Here’s how to use the feature:

• Get permission from the admin.
• Launch the app, but join no conferences.
• Go to Effects.
• Choose one of the options: Slightly Blur, Completely Blur, etc.

And now you can join a video call. Although, the feature is also available amidst a conference. So, if you feel a bit shy about how your bedroom looks at the moment with footie pajamas and Pizza Ranch boxes scattered all over the place — use it to the max.

This month, Google Meet has also gotten new augmented reality filters and masks. For instance, you can transform into a smiley dinosaur or turn your room into a mermaid kingdom while attending a quarterly management meeting.