Video calls
Google Meet privacy rating
Google's video meeting service, part of Google Workspace, used in the browser and in mobile apps with screen sharing, captions and recording.
Summary
Google Meet scores 20 out of 100 (grade F) on the video calls criteria. It partly meets independent audit, end-to-end encrypted and join without an account. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales and self-hostable. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act.
Score 20 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- No
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No
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
Google collects activity data across its services and uses it for analytics and personalized ads.
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No
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Free for personal accounts and funded by Google's advertising business, which uses activity data across services.
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Partial
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
Google Workspace, which includes Meet, has third-party SOC 2 audits. Only the SOC 3 summary report is public.
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Partial
End-to-end encrypted Weight 3 of 3
Are calls end-to-end encrypted by default?
Meetings use cloud encryption by default; end-to-end or client-side encryption is optional and limited to some calls and accounts.
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Partial
Join without an account Weight 1 of 3
Can people join calls without an account?
Guests can ask to join without a Google account if someone in the meeting admits them; organizers need an account.
- No