Google Meet is rolling out a new feature that lets you pause video streams for individual tiles to improve focus on frequent speakers or presenters.
To turn off individual feeds, tap the three-dot menu next to the person’s name in the web sidebar and click “Don’t watch.” On mobile, there’s a new “Audio Only” mode, which disables all feeds except the presenter’s feed. Hopefully, Google will roll out this feature to desktops as well.
The “Audio Only” mode is definitely useful for saving data when you are on the go.
Google said Meet won’t notify others when you disable their video feeds. In addition, their meeting experience remains unchanged.
The company said it has already started rolling out the feature and will make it available to the entire base in a few weeks. Fortunately, administrators cannot disable the feature for individuals, so it is always available to users.
Earlier this year, Google introduced support for emoji reactions to Meet calls. In February, the company released 360-degree virtual backgrounds for Meet on mobile.