Change background and apply visual effects in Google Meet

To help limit distractions or make meetings more fun, you can now blur your background or apply:

• An immersive background
• A static background
• A seasonal background
• A custom image provided by you or your organisation
• Special effects such as filters

You can also apply styles to customise your video with various lighting, colour filters and stylised backgrounds.

To help devices better run real-time video, you can process static background images, blur effects and light adjustments in the cloud. This feature saves battery and processor power whilst optimising meeting quality.

Important:

• Sensitive information might be visible when you change your background.

• In your self view, your background will appear mirrored or inverted. However, the other participants in the meeting will see the correct orientation.

• Availability of backgrounds, filters and styles are subject to client type, account type and settings applied by Google Workspace admins. Workspace admins can let users apply backgrounds and special effects.

Learn what you need to apply visual effects on a computer

• A browser version that supports WebGL and automatic video lighting adjustment:
  • Windows, Mac or Linux: Chrome version M91 or up. Firefox 110 or up. Learn how to check your browser version.
  • ChromeOS: Version M91 or up. Learn how to upgrade your Chromebook.
  • Windows or Mac: Edge (Chromium) 91 or up.
• Turn on hardware acceleration.

Enable hardware acceleration 

Turn on hardware acceleration on Windows or Mac: 

1. In the top right of a Chrome window, click Menu  Click Settings. 
2. On the left, next to 'Advanced', click the down arrow .
3. Click System .
4. Turn on Use hardware acceleration when available.
5. Restart Chrome.

Check WebGL support

Check if your browser supports WebGL at webglreport.com and verify that 'Major performance caveat' is marked as 'No'. Your browser might disable WebGL if the device is unstable or causes crashes. You can’t enforce WebGL on unstable WebGL devices. In some cases, it may help to update graphic card drivers or restart your browser. Learn more about WebGL support. 

Meet adjusts between device and cloud-based processors

Adjustments between device and cloud-based effect processors are done automatically by Meet. It prioritises cloud-based effect processing for devices:

• With a four-core CPU or lower (fewer than eight logical cores)
• That use virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

Tip: If you use VDI, but no GPU is available, cloud-based effects processing is used. This may result in limited effect feature availability. Learn how to prepare your network for meetings.

Learn what you need for cloud-based effect processing

Adjustments between device and cloud-based effect processors are done automatically by Meet. It prioritises cloud-based effect processing for devices:

• With a four-core CPU or lower (fewer than eight logical cores)
• That use virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

This feature is currently available for Windows, ChromeOS and Linux machines that comply with device-based processing requirements.

Device-based effect processing is available for all Workspace editions.

Cloud-based effect processing is currently available for:

• Curated static background images (not available with VDI)
• Blur
• Lighting adjustment

Important: Visual effects that use cloud-based effect processing are available to those with the following Workspace editions and in the following countries or regions.

Workspace users for:

• Google Workspace Individual
• Business Standard
• Business Plus
• Enterprise Essentials
• Enterprise Starter
• Enterprise Standard
• Enterprise Plus

Users in eligible countries or regions:

• Central Asia
• Europe
• North Africa
• North America
• South America (Chile, Bolivia, Peru)
• Southeast Asia

Support for additional regions is being added.

Change your background and use visual effects

Important:

• Participants who join the meeting while not logged into a Google Account and participants who need to knock to get admitted can only change their background or use visual effects once in the meeting.
• Your camera is automatically turned on when you click on an effect. Your device may slow down when you use effects and backgrounds. If you experience performance issues, you can turn off effects.

1. Before you join a meeting, at the bottom of your self-view, click Apply visual effects .
   • During a meeting, hover over to your self-view.
   • In the centre, click Apply visual effects .
     • You can also click More options Apply visual effects .
     • You can adjust and stack visual effects across different categories. Click the category and scroll down.
       • Under the 'Backgrounds' tab
         • To slightly blur your background, click Slightly blur .
         • To completely blur your background, click Blur .
         • To upload your own background, click Upload .
         • To select a pre-uploaded background, click the background that you want to use.
       • Under the 'Filters' tab
         • Click the filter that you want to use.
           • To turn on an interactive filter, follow the on-screen instruction.
       • Under the 'Appearance' tab
         • You can adjust your video lighting or framing.
         • To change the style, click the style that you want to use.
2. To select or remove the stacked effects, on the right of your self view in the Effects panel, click Stack .
   • The number in the green bubble indicates the number of effects that you've applied.
   • Select the effects that you want to remove, or to remove all effects, click Remove all.
   • To minimise the stack view, click Close .
3. When you've finished, to close the Effects panel, click Done .