Google to allow Meet users replace background with image

San Francisco, Nov 1 (IANS) Google has started rolling out a new feature that will allow users of its Meet video conferencing platform to replace their background with an image of their choice.They can either use Google's hand-picked images, which include office spaces, landscapes, and abstract backgrounds, or upload their own image."Selecting your own picture is not available to participants of meetings organised by Education customers," Google said.Google said that the feature will initially work on ChromeOS and on the Chrome browser on Windows and Mac desktop devices.Support on Meet mobile apps will be "coming soon", the company said on Friday.Google introduced the feature as custom backgrounds can help you show more of your personality, as well as help hide your surroundings.The development comes after the company recently launched the ability to filter out disruptive background noise and blur background in Google Meet.Google said that virtual backgrounds work directly within your browser and do not require an extension or any additional software.In its earnings call on Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that Google Meet saw a peak in Q3 of 235 million daily meeting participants and more than 7.5 billion daily video calls.Google Meet's rivals such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams already allow their users to customise their meeting backgrounds with images.
--IANS gb/in