Google Meet is getting a long-overdue feature this month

Google Meet has been getting many small updates in the last couple of months, but none added one of the features that Google promised to bring to the app since 2021: reactions. But that’s about to change, as the Mountain View company has just announced in-meeting reactions will be rolled out in Google Meet on Web, Meet Hardware devices, and iOS.

It’s unfortunate that Google hasn’t been able to bring this feature to Android devices too alongside the other platforms. At least we know it’s “coming soon” though, so fingers crossed for a quick release.

That said, the new in-meeting reactions should start showing in the app as small badges in the sender’s video tile. They’ll be visible on the left side of the screen. Whenever multiple Google Meet users enable these reactions, “a burst of emojis” should pop up on the left side of the screen.

In order to start sharing a reaction, you’ll need to select the smile icon in the control bar to get to the reaction bar. Simply hover the bar and choose the skin tone that you want to be applied to all emojis subject to change color.

Although this is not a required feature for the app to work, in-meeting reactions will definitely allow Google Meet users to engage and participate in the meetings without interrupting the speaker. Additionally, the option to select skin tones is also great for those who are keen on matching them with their identities.

According to Google, the in-meeting reactions will be enabled by default. Only meeting hosts can turn on and off reactions during meetings though. As far as availability, the new feature will be fully rolled out starting January 16. The new in-meeting reactions will be available to all Google Workspace customers, legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, as well as users with personal Google accounts.