Google Meet presented three new face filters for some reason videoconferencing software and all without exception are quite off-putting.
behind announcement (opens in a new tab) on Google Workspace Blog updates, Google Meet users can now choose a diary or a strawberry instead of a head if they wish, or be cast as a bunny in the office.
If you insist on bringing boundless joy to hybrid encounter, you can find these effects along with the rest of the pod effects panel in Google Meet (opens in a new tab)available before and after the meeting.
Oh Lord no
Administrative tools are thankfully here to save the day, with the ability to control whether the effects are available across your organization. They are automatically disabled for Google Workspace Education users, but enabled by default for all other Google Workspace plan users who get what they deserve.
The new effects are part of an extended fifteen-day rollout that began on December 21, so while you might think you’re safe, you’re not. Not quite.
These bizarre and disturbing effects are at the very end of what Google Meet has to offer. There are also virtual backgrounds, allowing users to pretend they are working on a beach or in the middle of a blizzard, and even plain blurs, allowing users to hide the clutter in their crowded studios.
We’re not saying the new filters are bad (they really are), it’s just that it would be best to get through the Q4 revenue report meeting in a year of recession without our bosses breaking the tension with some obligatory fun.