Google Duo Adds A New Family Feature

Google just came up with a new way to make Duo video calls even more helpful, through a series of updates that make chats more accomodating, like a family mode.

The changes will arrive this week on all one-on-one chats on both Android and iOS and include doodle features and AR effects, while making it more ‘safe’ for children’s participation, like the hang-up and mute buttons which are hidden, to avoid your little ones accidentally clicking them.

“Although the physical separation has been hard for all of us, Google Duo makes it easier to let the family know how much we miss them, show off our latest artwork and just act silly together as we would in person,” Humberto Castaneda Product Manager, Google Duo noted in a blog post.

Group calls are also coming up in the following weeks, as a Chrome preview including a new layout that allows more people at the same time and it works pretty easy. Anyone with an account will be able to join, as well as other people invited by sending a link. 

The company’s goal is to offer a more personalized and friendly experience – hence the doodling and the AR effects – different from the one users can find on Zoom, for example.

However, for more ‘serious’ matters, Google Meet might be a better solution, while Google duo remains a versatile tool for a more familiar small group video chat experience.