Google Meet introduces gesture detection for raising hands without clicking a button

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Virtual meetings are more popular than ever, with platforms like Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams seeing a significant surge in usage over the past couple of years. Google Meet has recently introduced a new feature that allows users to physically raise their hand in front of the camera, alerting the meeting host and other participants of their intention to speak. This eliminates the need to click on a button to raise your hand, making the virtual meeting experience more intuitive and natural.

The gesture detection feature in Google Meet functions identically to the traditional hand-raise button in the control bar. When a participant raises their hand, a new icon will appear above their camera feed, letting others know that they have something to say. However, it’s important to keep in mind that gesture detection is disabled by default and needs to be manually enabled by the user from the settings menu.

While this new feature is a step in the right direction for virtual meetings, it does come with some limitations. For example, there is currently no method for lowering your hand once it has been raised. Additionally, the hand-raise gesture feature is currently rolling out to select Google Workspace business and education plan users, with no clear timeline for when it will be available to a wider range of users.

Overall, this new feature in Google Meet aims to make online meetings more seamless and natural by allowing participants to physically raise their hands in front of the camera, eliminating the need for on-screen button clicks. Keep an eye out for this feature as it gradually rolls out to more users in the coming weeks.