Google Meet might be getting background blur and virtual backgrounds in a future update

One of the most desirable features in video conferencing services is the ability to blur out your background or replace it with a virtual background instead. That's been something that Zoom users have been enjoying for some time, while Skype and Teams also offer this option.

It might seem like a frivolity, but with more people using video conferencing at home, there's an increased demand to protect privacy with background blurring, even if just to save the embarrassment of having your co-workers looking at your laundry drying behind you.

TechRadar Pro is reporting that background blurring will be coming to Google Meet both on mobile and on desktop. There's no doubt that Google already has the technology, as its Pixel phones have been class leading in fore and background separation for a couple of years.

The information was discovered in a document detailing future features for G Suite users - according to TechRadar - although there's no indication of when this feature might appear.

Google Meet has gained popularity, with Google transitioning from Hangouts to refreshed naming. Originally Meet was limited to G Suite subscribers, but Google opened it up to all Google account holders to meet the growing demand for video calling services from home. 

Google Meet on the desktop runs in the browser, so it’s a relatively lightweight solution compared to some of its rivals. We suspect that some of the delay is Google figuring out exactly how to integrate the new feature into service. It recently added noise cancellation and we suspect that the new video effects will be added as an option in the video settings.

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