Google Duo launches web group calls with up to 32 people

Video conferencing softwares online became immensely popular due to the coronavirus pandemic, when the governments across the globe implemented a complete lockdown as per their respective situations. The initial days saw Zoom taking away all the attention but then Google made its Meet available for free for the users will the lockdown period. But still a number of people continued to prefer the Duo by Google for more personal conversations.

It was in the month of May when the search engine rolled out a number of features for the duo. But now it is launching support for group calls that can have participants up to 32 on the web. Until very recently, group calling was limited only to the Android and the iOS users , but in recent times the web now allows group sizes from 12 to 32. In March, 2020 the limit was originally to eight calls but then the search engine raised it to meet the video conferencing demands which are related to COVID-19.

In the new feature, the users can see the portrait and landscape boxes side by side and a similar Android UI was shown where six people in a square grid can scroll through. However, to access the feature, the users need to sign in to Duo with their respective Google accounts and that will not just include their phone numbers but they also need to tap on ‘Create group’ under the ‘Start a call’ button. This feature is also expected to arrive on mobile phones soon.

Moreover, Google is also encouraging the new WebRTC API as it supports the end-to-end encryption as the Android and iOS clients. Duo.google.com can be saved as a Progressive Web App for the desktop platforms. On the Chrome address bar, there is an install button that allows a dock/desktop icon for the service. More number of people have now turned to video conferencing software that are easy to use as many people continue to work from home as a safety measure.

Photo Credits: Rokuguru