In April this year Google announced that it would make Google Meet, its video conferencing tool, free to anyone with a Google account. That’s not changing anytime soon, but Google Meet is about to impose a time limit on its free users.
Starting on September 30th, pending any changes, Google Meet will limit all free meetings to 60 minutes. This doesn’t really come as a surprise, as it was mentioned in Google’s announcement regarding free Meet calls back in April. Technically speaking, the restriction has been in place this whole time, but it wasn’t being enforced.
It’s unclear what restrictions will come with Google Meet’s time limit, but presumably, it’ll work a lot like Zoom’s. After a meeting hits 60 minutes, users can simply create another meeting and join that with the same participants.
Given the pandemic hasn’t really shown any signs of slowing down, it’s a bit surprising that Google hasn’t granted an extension on the unlimited length calls. Still, with Zoom sticking with its 40-minute time limit, Google Meet will remain the superior option from that viewpoint. In a statement to The Verge, Google essentially confirmed no extension is coming.
