Advanced Google Meet features are ending soon

(Pocket-lint) – Google has confirmed that at the end of September it’ll be returning a few previously premium Google Meet features to behind the paywall of the G Suite Enterprise plan.

These features had been available to everyone, for free, for months now after Google announced the change as part of its initial response to the global lockdowns precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Of course, some would say that the impending threat of renewed lockdown restrictions, for example here in the UK, means it isn’t the best time to roll back these generous offers. 

Google had said from the start, though, that the features would only be live for free users until the end of September, so this is more of a confirmation than any announcement. The settings that will be affected include:

• Larger meetings for up to 250 participants per call
• Live streaming for up to 100K viewers within your domain
• The ability to securely record meetings to Google Drive

Those are fairly obviously features aimed at and likely used by primarily large businesses, which explains Google’s regular plan which has them locked behind its most expensive subscription, G Suite Enterprise, above and beyond the middle tier of G Suite Business. 

The change comes into play at the end of 30 September, so as of 1 October you’ll have to sign up for a paid plan to get these more large-scale features.

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.