The Google Meet app is Google's one app for video meetings and calls: get it from the Play Store or App Store on a phone or tablet, and on a computer go to meet.google.com or install the Google Meet Progressive Web App. With it you can create or join scheduled or instant meetings with a link, and ring a Google Workspace account, a personal account or a phone number directly.
Here's what most people miss. The app now does two different jobs. Meetings are the ones you join with a link, and every meeting is cloud-encrypted. Meet calls are upgraded mobile calls that ring someone directly, and end-to-end encryption is available for personal users. If you're on a business or education account, your admin controls the settings for both, so a missing feature isn't always something you can switch on yourself.
Where to get it on each device
| Device, as of October 2026 | How you get Meet | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Computer | Go to meet.google.com or download the Google Meet Progressive Web App | The new Meet homepage lives at meet.google.com |
| Android phone and tablet | Get the new Meet app in the Play Store | Meet calls ring a Workspace account, personal account or phone number |
| iPhone and iPad | Get the new Meet app in the App Store | Same app for meetings and Meet calls |
| Meeting room hardware | Select the event from the scheduled list, or use the meeting code or nickname | Third-party devices only if your organisation allows it |
To use Meet meetings at all, sign in to your Google Account. Google calls Meet your one app for video calling and meetings across all devices, with filters and effects built in.
Meetings vs Meet calls
| Meetings | Meet calls | |
|---|---|---|
| How it starts | Create or join with a link, now or later | Rings the other person directly |
| Who you reach | Anyone with the link who's allowed in | A Workspace account, personal account or phone number |
| Encryption | Cloud-encrypted; some domains support client-side encryption | Cloud-encrypted; end-to-end encryption for personal users |
| Where | Computer, phone or tablet | Your mobile device |
What's free in every edition
Whether you're on a consumer account or a Workspace edition, these basics are included as of October 2026:
- Start or schedule a meeting for now or later, and join meetings other people create.
- Join a Meet call from Google Docs, Sheets and Slides on the web.
- Up to 100 participants in a meeting, with higher limits on certain Workspace editions.
- A one-on-one meeting can run for 24 hours. With 3 or more people, the limit is one hour, though certain Workspace editions can run longer.
- Join a breakout room, though only certain Workspace editions can create them.
- Hand raising, emoji reactions and On-the-Go mode for when you're driving or out and about.
- Safety controls that let hosts end a call and turn off chat, screen sharing, camera and microphone for participants.
Inside a meeting you can also send chat messages, add live captions, and apply virtual backgrounds and visual effects. Here's my walkthrough on changing your background on Google Meet if that's the bit you're after.
Using the Meet homepage on a computer
The newer homepage at meet.google.com is a hub for starting, finding and following up on meetings. At the top, click New and pick one of three options:
- Create a meeting for later, which gives you a link to share.
- Start an instant meeting, which opens a new meeting straight away.
- Schedule in Google Calendar, which opens a new Calendar event with Meet details added.
To join instead, type a meeting code, meeting URL or nickname in the box at the top and click Join. If you'd like the long version, I've covered how to create a Google Meet link step by step.
Below that, a Scheduled section lists today's meetings, with anything already running marked Happening Now and highlighted in blue. A Past section, collapsed by default, holds meetings that have finished. Use the week selector, the calendar next to the date or the Today button to move between days.
The homepage also pulls in files. You'll see attachments the organiser added to the invite, such as Docs, Sheets, Slides and PDFs, plus links to recordings, transcripts and Notes by Gemini summaries when Take notes for me was used. One catch: only events in your primary calendar that have a Meet link show up. An event in another calendar, or one without a Meet link, won't appear. And if you use Meet in Germany with a personal account, you might not see the daily list at all, so use Google Calendar for that.
Every way to get into a meeting
You can join from Google Meet, Google Calendar or Gmail, and there are more routes besides:
- Click a meeting link in a chat message or email.
- Dial in by phone, which only works when a Google Workspace user organised the meeting and the admin turned dial-in on. You can call in from 15 minutes before the start until the end.
- Join from a Google meeting room or, if your organisation allows it, a third-party device such as Zoom Rooms or Cisco Webex.
- Join without a Google Account by entering your name and clicking Ask to join, then waiting for someone to let you in.
- Use Room Display mode to put the meeting full-screen on a room TV while your controls, chat and notes stay private on your laptop.
If you're not on the calendar invite, you'll need to request to join and the organiser or a participant has to let you in. The first 5 people to join trigger a chime, and after that new arrivals come in with a silent notification. Meeting nicknames only work with people in your organisation and are currently a Google Workspace feature. For the click-by-click version, here's how to join a Google Meet on any device.
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Why a feature is greyed out or missing
Meet sometimes shows a button as disabled rather than hiding it, to show you haven't lost access. Features can be missing because of your Workspace edition, admin settings, client-side encryption limits or age restrictions. If your edition should include something you can't find, check you're signed in to the right account, ask your admin, or check back in a few weeks, since Google releases some features to selected users first. Hosts can also switch certain features off for their own meetings.
Two privacy points are worth knowing. People in a meeting can see your name and basic info from your Google Account. And if you've blocked someone in your Meet contacts, they can still join meetings and group calls.
My verdict on the Meet app
I'd install the app on your phone if you take calls on the move, and use meet.google.com or the Progressive Web App on your computer, because that's where the homepage, attachments and meeting notes all sit together. I'd keep my meetings in my primary calendar so they show up there. If a button's greyed out, don't reinstall anything: it's almost always your edition or your admin, not the app.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Google Meet app for computer?
On a computer, go to meet.google.com or download the Google Meet Progressive Web App. Phones and tablets get the new Meet app from the Play Store or App Store.
How many people can join a Google Meet?
You can have a maximum of 100 participants in a meeting. Certain Workspace editions may have a higher participant limit.
How long can a free Google Meet last?
A one-on-one meeting has a time limit of 24 hours. A meeting with 3 or more participants has a time limit of one hour, and certain Workspace editions can have longer meetings.
Can I join a Google Meet without a Google Account?
Yes. You can join a meeting without a Google Account, but the organiser or a participant needs to let you in.
Why don't my meetings show on the Meet homepage?
Only events that are in your primary calendar and have Meet links show up on the homepage.
