Google Meet adds security feature to prevent unauthorized access to online classes

Google Meet is rolling a new security feature for video call meetings held by educational institutions that are subscribed to the service.

Anonymous users who are not signed into a Google account can no longer join meetings organized by anyone with a G Suite for Education license. Google notes that this prevents participants from sharing a link publicly to encourage anonymous users to request access.

This new feature essentially aims to prevent ‘zoombombing,’ which is a phrase that’s been coined to describe when unauthorized people enter virtual meetings to potentially spread and display harmful content.

ZDNet notes that since schools have to online learning, some students have been posting links to their virtual classrooms online hoping that pranksters will disrupt the lesson so they can leave early.

With this new feature, anonymous users will be blocked by default, so admins can request to have it disabled by contacting G Suite support. The new change is expected to go into effect in the next 15 days.

Source: Google