Google Meet is now being offered for free until September, with Facebook also expanding its videocall functions on Whatsapp with the launch Facebook messenger rooms for to up to 50 participants as part of efforts to draw users away from other videoconferencing platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
GoogleMeet will be free to any user with an email address, with the rollout of the temporarily free service taking place over the coming weeks.
Facebook’s messenger rooms offering has been released early in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing Facebook users to start group video calls that can be joined by up to 50 people.
Facebook has also been working with cryptographers to prevent uninvited users from joining and disrupting calls, a phenomenon known as
‘Zoombombing’ that has plagued rival videoconferencing platform, Zoom.
Some UK Facebook users will have access to the platform, with a full rollout taking place over the next few weeks.
Videoconferencing platforms have seen an unprecedented surge since the novel ‘Coronavirus’ forced companies around the world to work from home where possible. Videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom have seen a spike of 300 million daily active users in April, with new challengers such as Google and Facebook stepping up to offer rival services in a videoconferencing market that continues to become increasingly diversified as the pandemic goes on.