A Google Meet waiting room is a virtual space where people wait until the host lets them into the meeting, and you turn it on in Google Calendar under Video call options, in the Waiting room tab. Once you're in the call, click People to see the queue and bring people in one at a time or all together.
Here's the part that catches hosts out. People are held in the queue even if they're on the meeting invite, so your own colleagues wait too. And you have to click People, not hover over it: hovering over the people panel won't show you the list of who's waiting.
Turning the waiting room on in Calendar
The waiting room is set when you create the event, not from inside the call. As of October 2026, the steps are:
- On your computer, go to Google Calendar.
- At the top left, click Create Event.
- Add a title and any event details.
- At the bottom, click More options.
- In the Event details tab, click Add Google Meet video conferencing, then Video call options.
- In the Waiting room tab, under Waiting room, turn on Waiting room.
- If you want people brought in as soon as you join, also turn on Bring in automatically.
- At the bottom, click Save, then Save again.
One thing to know about Bring in automatically: if a co-host joins the call, the meeting starts and everyone waiting is moved in. While they wait, people can check the basic meeting details and calendar attachments. If you haven't set up the event yet, here's my guide on how to schedule a Google Meet.
Letting people in and sending them back
| What you want to do, as of October 2026 | Where to click |
|---|---|
| See who's waiting | Click People at the top right, then look under In the waiting room |
| Let everyone in | Under In the waiting room, click Bring everyone in |
| Let one person in | Next to their name, click Bring in |
| Move someone back out | Under In the meeting, next to their name, click More actions, then Send to the waiting room |
| Message the queue | Click Chat, set the To field to Waiting room, type and click Send |
| Admit everyone on arrival | Turn on Bring in automatically in the Calendar event |
Sending someone back to the waiting room is what makes this useful for one-to-one conversations. Google pitches it as a way to protect participants' privacy when you need to meet people separately, especially for sensitive discussions.
Messages to the waiting room are one-way. People in the queue can read what you send but can't reply, so give them everything they need in one go, such as how long you'll be.
The host controls that sit alongside it
All Google Workspace editions have Host management. When it's on, only hosts can use these controls:
- Add or remove people.
- Manage chat moderation.
- Lock audio and lock video.
- Assign View only roles.
- Add co-hosts.
- Ask participants questions.
To turn Host management on during a call, click Host controls at the bottom right and switch it on in the side panel. To set it in advance, open the Calendar event, click Video call options and select Host controls on the left. It's off by default there, so remember to click Save. By default there's one host per meeting, but you can add up to 25 co-hosts once you're inside, and anyone who schedules or starts a meeting is its host. If you put a meeting on someone else's calendar, they could become the host instead.
Attendance reports: who came and for how long
Attendance tracking pairs well with a waiting room because it records who was there. As of October 2026 it's available on Google Workspace Essentials, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade. Education Plus and Teaching and Learning Upgrade users automatically get a report for any meeting with 2 or more participants. Everyone else who's eligible can switch it on or off:
- Inside a meeting, click Host controls at the bottom and toggle Attendance tracking.
- Or in Google Calendar, add Google Meet video conferencing, click Change conference settings, tick Attendance tracking and click Save.
After the meeting, the organiser gets an email with a Google Sheets report listing each person's first name, last name, email, time joined, time exited and duration. Breakout rooms get their own tab with the room, when it opened and closed and how long it ran. If someone joins and leaves more than once, you'll see their overall time rather than every timestamp. Someone who calls in from a phone shows as some of their phone number digits, and a meeting room shows as the room's name. If someone's ejected, that's recorded as the time they left.
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Turn tracking off in a recurring meeting and that choice carries over to the next one. Turn it off in a one-time, nicknamed or instant meeting and it switches back on after the meeting ends. Google also says attendance data is kept in Meet for only a short time, so report any tracking problem as soon as you spot it.
My verdict on the waiting room
I'd turn the waiting room on for client calls, interviews and anything sensitive, because you decide exactly who's in the room and when. I'd add Bring in automatically for team meetings, so nobody's stuck outside while you're on another call. Skip it for a quick internal chat, since it holds back colleagues on the invite too. And if you want a record of who turned up, switch on attendance tracking before the meeting, not after. For the guest side of things, here's how joining a Google Meet works.
Frequently asked questions
How do I turn on the waiting room in Google Meet?
Create the event in Google Calendar, click More options, then Add Google Meet video conferencing and Video call options. In the Waiting room tab, turn on Waiting room and click Save.
Why can't I see who is in the Google Meet waiting room?
Make sure to click People at the top right of the meeting screen. If you just hover over the people panel, you won't be able to see the list of waiting participants.
Can people in the waiting room message me?
No. Hosts can send one-way chat messages to the waiting room, but participants in the waiting room can't reply.
Do invited guests have to wait in the waiting room?
Yes. Participants are held in the queue outside the main meeting even if they're on the meeting invite, unless you turn on Bring in automatically.
How many co-hosts can a Google Meet have?
By default there's only one meeting host per meeting, but you can add up to 25 co-hosts once inside the meeting.
