Google Meet, for some reason, introduced three new face filters to its video conferencing software, and all of them, without exception, are pretty nasty.
According to an announcement (opens in a new tab) on the Google Workspace Updates blog, Google Meet users can now choose to have a log or a strawberry head, or be thrown like a rabbit into an office cubicle.
If you insist on bringing your limitless joy to a hybrid meeting, you can find these effects with others in the effects panel in Google Meet (opens in a new tab), accessible before and after a meeting.
oh lord no
Fortunately, admin controls are here to save the day, with the ability to control whether effects are accessible throughout the organization. They're automatically disabled for Google Workspace Education users, but enabled by default for all other Google Workspace plan users, who get what they deserve.
The new effects are part of an extended fortnight release that began on December 21, so while you may think you're safe, you're not. Not really.
These weird and annoying effects are on the edge of what Google Meet offers. There are also virtual backgrounds, which allow users to pretend they're working on the beach or in a blizzard, and even basic blurs, which allow users to hide the clutter in their busy work rooms.
We're not saying the new filters are bad (they really are), it would just be better if we could get through the QXNUMX earnings meeting in a recession year without our bosses breaking the tension with the obligatory diversion.