Google Meet, its video conferencing software, has received two usability improvements. When everyone else has left a call, the app will now immediately remove you from it. Google Meet is also consolidating host management controls. They’ll be merged into the Google Meet web interface’s bottom-right corner. The controls had already been discovered in a number of locations.
The new change allows for a more centralised, but lengthier, location of host administration controls. “We believe that by decreasing the need to switch between several menus, this change makes it easier to manage your meeting settings,” Google noted while unveiling the new features.
Apart from that, Google Meet now has a new “Leave empty calls” option that will remove you from a call if no one else joins after a few minutes if no one else joins. A countdown appears when you activate automatic exit from meetings. Google claims it wants to avoid scenarios in which audio and video are transmitted unintentionally. When a user’s device’s audio is muted and Google Meet is operating in the background, this is also handy.
“Now, when you’re the only person in a meeting for five minutes, you’ll receive a prompt asking whether you want to stay or leave the meeting. If you don’t respond after two minutes, you will automatically leave the meeting,” Google says.
This feature will be enabled by default, but can be turned off by going into Settings > General. The feature is being rolled out to Google Meet for desktop and iOS users will get it in the coming weeks. Android users will get the new feature “soon.”
