Google adds background noise filtering to Meet on Android and iOS

Google announced Tuesday the launch of background noise filtering for the Google Meet app on Android and ios, bringing to mobile devices a feature that was first introduced with the Meet desktop app over the summer. Starting today, the Meet app should be able to intelligently silence background noises, including nearby distractions such as typing and opening and closing doors, as well as more distant interruptions, such as nearby construction or traffic noise.

Google has been rapidly adding features to its rival Zoom for the past few months, as remote working and video conferencing have gained popularity across multiple platforms due to the pandemic. That has included making the app, previously available only to customers in G Suite’s collection of paid apps free for all Gmail users, as much as add Meet video calls to the Gmail mobile app.

However, moving background noise filtering is only available to G Suite Enterprise and Enterprise for Education customers and is not available in some countries, including South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. Noise filtering is disabled by default, but can be enabled before or during a video call.