Google Meet adds more than 2 million new users daily globally: Report

Google’s Meet saw over 2 billion minutes of video calling in the month of March.

Google rebrands Hangouts Meet as Google Meet (REUTERS)

Videoconferencing apps are getting huge traction as millions of people are working remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Google's Meet is no exception as the videoconferencing app has been adding over 2 million new users daily globally.

Google's Cloud chief Thomas Kurian recently revealed the platform had registered over 2 billion minutes of video calling in the month of March. He said the platform was growing 60% daily, according to CNET.

Rebranding

Even as Google's videoconferencing app usage has grown, the company has also made minor branding changes. Google is now calling the app as "Google Meet" instead of "Hangouts Meet." Google confirmed the change to Android Police.

Rise of videoconferencing apps

With millions of users around the world relying on digital tools, enterprise videoconferencing apps such as Google Meet and Zoom have grown in popularity.

According to a recent AppAnnie report, videoconferencing app downloads topped 62 million between March 14 and March 21. The report, however, included causal video chat apps such as HouseParty.

According to the report, business apps downloads went past 62 million on Play Store and Apple's App Store. Compared to the previous week, the downloads went up by 45%. Compared to the weekly average downloads of business apps in 2019, the downloads were up by a whopping 90%.

"As we enter into a new wave of the pandemic, with the US and Europe at the center of rising cases, lockdown and home quarantine measures increase in efforts to flatten the curve. As a result, Europeans and Americans turn to video conferencing apps for work collaboration and keeping in touch with family and friends," said AppAnnie in a report.