Learn about Meet client-side encryption (CSE)

Important:

• CSE meetings must be created by a user with one of these Workspace editions:
  • Education Standard
  • Education Plus
  • Enterprise Plus
• CSE meetings can't be created in the Google Meet app .
  • CSE meetings can only be created on mobile in the Google Calendar app .
• You can join a CSE meeting from your computer or mobile device. CSE is not available on hardware.
• Due to authentication requirements, users must be invited to join a meeting. Learn how to invite a participant to a CSE meeting.
• Due to strong authentication requirements, participants must be invited to join a meeting. The knocking capability to allow a guest is disabled.

To protect your information, Meet always encrypts call media in transit and at rest. Call media can only be decrypted by the meeting participants and Google's data centre services for Meet.

Client-side encryption adds an additional encryption layer for privacy and only shares that session key with:

• meeting participants
• the key service of the meeting host organisation (if CSE is used with an IdP/KACL infrastructure)

With CSE, only the meeting participants can decrypt the call media while Google data centres and other service providers can't decrypt it. CSE also encrypts call media on each participant's browser before the data transmits to other participants.

To use CSE, you must connect Google Workspace to an external identity provider and encryption key service (IdP+KACL).​

Learn how CSE works in meetings

You can join a CSE meeting the same way that you join a non-CSE meeting. For CSE meetings, participants can't join until the host has joined. Participants that join before the host get a black screen with the words 'waiting for the host to join'.

Due to the extra layer of privacy, these functions are not available in CSE meetings:

• Abuse reporting
• Noise cancellation
• Recordings
• Live streams
• Use a phone for audio
• Add people by phone
• Captions
• Polls
• Q&A
• Jamboard
• Share joining information
• Interoperability through a third-party gateway

Learn how to invite a participant to a CSE meeting

Due to authentication requirements, participants must be invited to join a meeting. Participants can no longer knock to join a meeting.

A participant can enter a CSE meeting if the host sends an invitation:

• Through a calendar event. Learn how to invite people to your calendar event.
• During a video meeting. Learn how to send an invitation through an email.
  • Only invited participants can access the meeting through the meeting code or link.

Create an encrypted event in Google Calendar

Important: You can only add CSE when you create an event.

1. On your computer, go to Google Calendar.
2. At the top left, click Create.
3. At the top right of the event window, click Turn on encryption .
   • You may get a pop-up to authenticate with your IdP. Make sure that pop-ups are allowed in your browser.
   • Tip: Always turn on CSE before you enter event details. When you turn on CSE, your event descriptions, unencrypted attachments and Meet conference settings are reset.
4. Add event details like titles, guests, descriptions and attachments.
   • If you add a meeting room to your encrypted event, you must join the encrypted video call from your own device, not a meeting room device.
   • You can only add encrypted attachments to an encrypted event.
5. Click Save.

Turn on CSE for an instant meeting

Important: Only hosts can add CSE when creating meetings.

1. Go to meet.google.com.
2. Click Start a new meeting Video call options.
3. In the window that appears, go to the 'Security' tab and tick the box next to 'Add encryption ', then select an option:
   1. To get joining info for an encrypted call later, click Create a video call for later.
   2. To get joining info for an encrypted call instantly, click Start a video call now.

Find out if CSE is turned on for a meeting

Important: Only hosts can add CSE to their meetings.

So that you know when CSE is on, a shield appears.

Before the meeting, the shield appears:

• Next to the 'Join with Google Meet' button in a Google Calendar invite.
• Next to the meeting on your agenda at meet.google.com or in the Meet app .
• In a banner at the top of the green room window.

During the meeting, the shield appears in the top left-hand corner of the meeting window.