What you need to know
- Google is rolling out a new update to Meet on the web.
- The new update will allow you to unmute yourself during a meeting by pressing and holding the space bar.
- You can return to your muted state by simply releasing the same key.
If you often forget to mute yourself back after chiming in during a Google Meet call, the search giant is introducing a handy shortcut to its video conferencing service to address this issue.
Google has announced in a blog post that it will roll out the ability to unmute yourself in a Google Meet conference by just holding down the space bar. In turn, you'll be able to return to a muted state simply by releasing the space key.
The new feature will be available on Google's video conferencing platform beginning September 9, though it may take up to 15 days for everyone to see it. However, when it does become available, it will not be enabled by default: you must manually turn the feature on by navigating to Meet's settings menu.
It will come in handy for many users who prefer joining a video call muted by default. It is especially useful for people who frequently forget to mute themselves back after unmuting to say something. More importantly, it saves people time by eliminating the need to navigate to Meet's built-in mute button.
However, Google is a little late to the game. Many of the best video conference software tools, such as Zoom, already offer this capability. Nonetheless, it's an excellent addition to Meet.
The update comes at a time when Google's merger of Meet and Duo is still perplexing. Google changed Duo's icon and name a few weeks ago to reflect Meet's takeover. This left users with two options: the new Meet app, which combines Duo and Meet, and the Meet (Original) app, which is the service's legacy version. Google is now bringing back the Duo icon, which, when tapped, takes you to Meet.
