Productivity Hacks

How to Change Google Meet Background

Rodoshi

2025

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On a call but your surrounding isn't camera-ready? Google Meet lets you change your background in seconds. In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps and also introduce you to an AI note-taker tool to improve your meeting productivity. Let’s begin!

Steps to Change Background on Google Meet

1. Open Google Meet app on your computer, then select a meeting.
2. Before you join—or during the meeting—tap Effects at the bottom of your self view.
3. You can apply visual effects from different categories. Tap a category, then scroll to explore options.

Under the ‘Backgrounds’ tab:

To slightly blur your background, click Slightly blur
To completely blur your background, click Blur
To upload your own background, tap Upload
To use a pre-uploaded background, tap the one you want
To remove the effect, tap Remove all or tap the clear icon

Under the ‘Filters’ tab:

Tap the filter you'd like to apply
If it's interactive, follow the on-screen instructions to activate it

Under the ‘Appearance’ tab:

To touch up your appearance, choose an option under ‘Portrait touch up’
To change the style, tap the style you prefer

4. To manage stacked effects:

On the right of your self view, tap Stack
Select the effects you want to remove, or tap Remove all to clear everything
Tap Close to minimize the stack view
A green bubble shows how many effects are currently applied

5. When you're done, tap Done in the top right corner to close the Effects panel.

Similarly, you can follow these same steps to change your background on Google Meet in Android and iOS devices (iPhone and iPad).

Tips to Make Your Background Look More Professional in Video Calls

Whether you’re working from home or joining from office or somewhere else, these tips can help you present yourself more professionally:

Use a clean, neutral space

Choose a background option that’s tidy and free from visual distractions. A blank wall, bookshelf, or uncluttered workspace keeps attention on you—not what's happening behind you.

Apply a subtle blur

Slight background blur is ideal for softening visual noise without looking artificial. It helps hide minor clutter while still feeling natural.

In Google Meet, you’ll find both ‘Slightly blur’ and ‘Blur’ options under the Backgrounds tab.

Select a static background image

If you use a virtual background, pick a clean, well-lit image that fits your role or work environment. A professional office or neutral setting works best. Avoid bright colors, complex patterns, or animated backgrounds.

Optimize lighting

Good lighting makes a noticeable difference. Face a natural light source or use a desk lamp with soft, diffused light. Avoid backlighting, which can obscure your face. If needed, use the built-in light adjustment feature in Meet for better clarity.

Offload effects to the cloud

To improve real-time video performance, Meet can process certain effects in the cloud. This includes:

Static background images
Blur effects
Light adjustments

Cloud processing helps maintain video quality without overloading your device.

Improve Meeting Productivity with Jamie

Having a clean, professional background sets the stage—but the real value of a meeting lies in accurately capturing and acting on what’s discussed. Jamie steps in as a silent partner that handles every aspect of meeting documentation, so you can focus on the conversation rather than scrambling to take notes.

See how Jamie works:

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Jamie is a completely bot-free, audio-only AI meeting assistant that works across all major platforms, even in person, while putting privacy first. Here’s a detailed look at how it supports the entire meeting lifecycle:

Before the Meeting

Sync with calendar apps: Connect Jamie to Google Calendar or Outlook. It automatically detects when you join a meeting and gives you a reminder to start recording on Jamie
Platform-agnostic: Because Jamie records from your device’s audio, it works on Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack Huddles, and any other conferencing tool—no plugins required

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During the Meeting

Bot-free presence: Jamie never shows up as a guest participant, so meetings remain uncluttered and confidential
Error-free transcription: It distinguishes voices, handles domain-specific vocabulary, and supports 100+ languages
Privacy-first recording: Only audio is processed, and it’s deleted immediately after transcription to meet strict GDPR and EU-data-residency standards

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After the Meeting

Jamie takes a few minutes to compile a share-ready package. On you meeting dashboard in Jamie, you’ll find:

Full transcript
Human-like summary of key themes and context
Action items
Decisions and next steps clearly highlighted

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You can share these notes through email, simple copy-paste, or by generating a shareable link.

Jamie isn’t limited to post-call summaries. Press Cmd/Ctrl + J at any time to open the built-in Executive Assistant Sidebar. Here's how you can use it:

Get instant answers from past meetings: Ask “What did we agree on payment terms with Client A?” and Jamie pulls the exact decision in seconds
Draft emails on the fly: The sidebar can turn your meeting action items into a follow-up email without switching apps
Choose your brain: Pick GPT-4, Claude-3.5, or Jamie’s own model for accurate responses

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Built for founders, investors, recruiters, managers, and busy professionals, Jamie takes away the stress of manual note-taking, and helps you be more present during your meetings.

Don't just take our word for it—here's what real-life users have achieved after using Jamie for note-taking:

👉 Sadra Hosseini, CEO of Ryft, saves 8+ hours each week

👉 Anna Lösch, a key account manager and event director, cut down meeting follow-up time from 60 to 12 Minutes

👉 Dmitry Andrusenko, an HR and talent development lead, has improved meeting transcription accuracy by 90%

Download Jamie for free today! (No credit card details needed)

Or schedule a free demo to learn more about the tool and see it in action.

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FAQs

1. What image formats and resolutions work best for custom backgrounds in Google Meet?

Use JPG or PNG files at a minimum of 1920 × 1080 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio). Higher-resolution images with simple patterns look clearer and more stable when Google Meet applies background blur or replacement effects.

2. How can I troubleshoot a Google Meet background effect that isn’t appearing?

Make sure Google Meet is updated to the latest version
Verify that camera and microphone permissions are enabled
If your device is older and you want to avoid performance issues, switch to 'Slightly blur' or enable cloud processing (Settings > Video > Use cloud processing)
Restart the app or browser if the new background still doesn’t load

3. Does using a virtual background or blur effect increase CPU/GPU usage?

Yes. Blurring uses minimal resources, but high-resolution custom images and complex filters can strain older devices. To reduce load, enable cloud offloading so Meet processes effects on its servers instead of doing it locally.

4. Can I use animated GIFs or video files as a virtual background?

No. Google Meet only supports static images. GIFs and videos are not compatible with Meet’s native background tools.

5. Is background change option available in free Google Workspace plans?

Yes. Even on Google’s free (personal) plan, you can update your background in Google Meet.

6. Do you need google workspace admin's permission to change background?

Yes. If you're using a Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) account, an admin must enable the option before you can change your background in Google Meet.

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Rodoshi

Growth Content Editor

Rodoshi Das is a Growth Content Editor at Jamie. With a marketer’s mindset and a researcher’s curiosity, she crafts product-led B2B SaaS content that drives results. When she’s not brainstorming strategies, you’ll find her lost in her books, rewatching The Office for the hundredth time, or planning her itinerary for a trip to the mountains.