Google Meet on Windows

Google Meet is Google's video-communication app, and on Windows you use it through meet.google.com rather than a classic installer to download. There is no version number to chase: Google updates the service continuously on its side, so everyone always gets the current release.

Below is how to set up Meet on Windows and answers to the questions people ask before their first call.

What is Google Meet?

Meet is the video conferencing product in Google's office tools, first released in 2017. It lets you join or host calls with a link, share your screen, chat during the meeting and present documents without anyone installing extra software. Because the whole thing runs on Google's servers, the experience on a Windows laptop, a Mac or a phone is almost identical, and a meeting started on one device can be joined from another. Schools and companies that already use Google accounts tend to pick it for exactly that reason: people click a calendar invite and they are in. It is also a practical choice for one-off calls with clients or relatives who have never installed a messenger, since all they need is a link and a browser.

Do I need to download anything?

No separate program is required. Open meet.google.com in a current browser. If you want Meet to open in its own window with a taskbar icon, most browsers offer to install the page as an app from the address bar. On phones, Google explains the app install in its Meet help article.

How do I set it up on Windows?

1. Go to meet.google.com and sign in with your Google account.
2. Allow the browser to use the camera and microphone.
3. Start a new meeting or paste the link you were sent.
4. Optionally install it as an app from the browser menu.

What are the system requirements?

Google lists a dual-core processor and 2 GB of memory as the minimum for taking part in meetings and presenting non-video content. Meet runs on Windows, macOS, Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions; on Android it needs version 5.0 and up. The full, current list is on Google's requirements page.

Is Google Meet free?

Yes, anyone with a Google account can host and join meetings for free. Organisations may use it as part of paid Google plans, but you do not need one for normal calls.

Is it safe?

Use only the official site and Google's help pages. Fake “Meet downloader” programs are a red flag, because there is no legitimate Windows installer to hand out.

Pros and cons

• Nothing to install; a link is enough.
• Works on modest hardware.
• Tight integration with Google Calendar and Gmail.
• Needs a Google account to host meetings.
• Fewer options than dedicated desktop meeting apps.

Alternatives

For communities rather than scheduled meetings, Discord suits better; for text chats with occasional calls, Telegram is lighter.