Google Meet hosts will soon have the ability to disable microphones and cameras of participants, and prevent them turning them on again, according to a Workspace blog. This feature could prove useful for hosts in order to prevent noisy attendees from interrupting meetings, even if they've been turned off.
The default setting will turn off the microphone and camera lock. Hosts will need to activate it during meetings to make use of it. Any audio and/or video locks that were made in the main room will also apply to breakout rooms. However, the opposite is true. Locks that are applied to breakout rooms will not apply to main rooms or other rooms.
You will be kicked out of the meeting if you are using an older version of the iOS or Android apps that doesn't support this feature. If the hosts turn on the locks ahead of the meeting, and you're on one of these older apps, you wont even be able join the meeting. Google claims that older apps can be joined in meetings by turning off the locks.
The feature will be available to all Google Workspace customers. It was first made available for Rapid Release track users on Thursday. It will begin rolling out to those who are on the Scheduled Release track from November 1.
