Google Meet on iOS and Android gets a new option to save your mobile data
Data-saving features for video-meeting apps have become a must-have in the pandemic as workers are compelled to join more video meetings.
Now Google is rolling our a tool to limit data usage for the Meet collaboration app on Android and iOS devices. Google promises it will limit data use for those on restricted data plans, conserve battery power, and cut usage of the device's processor. The trade off is that it causes a lower quality video call, but that's arguably better if your mobile subscription has a low data cap.
Smartphones
Meet is already automatically adjusted to suit the device and network, but the new tool allows users to tweak the quality of a meeting to reduce the load on a mobile device when it is connected to a mobile network. Users can turn off the data-saver setting to attain a higher quality call, and the feature is off by default.
SEE: Managing and troubleshooting Android devices checklist (TechRepublic Premium)
Google appears to be re-announcing the data-save feature with the inclusion of Meet on iOS. Easier this month, it said the feature for data saver for mobile devices was coming, alongside a Q&A feature in Meet for Android.
To turn on Meet data saver, users need to go to the three dot menu and select Settings. They can then tap on "Limit data usage" before joining a video call.
Microsoft has also released a data-saving feature for Microsoft Teams to assist people on constrained networks. The feature lets users cap the amount of data used during Teams video calls.
Google is rolling out the feature from April 22 to customers using Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Frontline, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Nonprofits, Cloud Identity Free, and Cloud Identity Premium.