How to Blur Your Background in Google Meet

Whether you are taking a professional video call from a messy home office or joining a remote class from a busy coffee shop, you don’t always want your background visible to everyone on the call. Google Meet includes a built-in background blur feature that uses artificial intelligence to keep you in sharp focus while obscuring your surroundings.

You can enable this feature before you even join the meeting, or toggle it on dynamically while the call is already in progress. Here is how to blur your background in Google Meet on a computer.

How to Blur Your Background Before Joining a Meeting

The best time to blur your background is in the “green room”—the preview screen you see before you officially click “Join now.”

1. Navigate to Google Meet and click the meeting link or enter the meeting code.
2. On the pre-join screen, look at the bottom right corner of your video preview. You will see an icon that looks like a person with a sparkling background (the Apply visual effects button).
3. Click this icon to open the effects panel on the right side of the screen.
4. Under the Background section, you will see two blur options:
   • Slight blur: Ideal if you just want to soften the background slightly while keeping the general environment recognizable.
   • Blur your background: A stronger, more aggressive blur that completely obscures details behind you.
5. Click your preferred option. You will see the blur applied to your video preview immediately.
6. Once you are satisfied, click Join now.

How to Blur Your Background During a Meeting

If you forgot to blur your background before joining, or if your environment suddenly changes, you can enable the feature without leaving the call.

1. While in the Google Meet call, locate the meeting control bar at the bottom of the screen.
2. Click the More options button (the three vertical dots).
3. Select Apply visual effects from the menu that appears.
4. The effects panel will open on the right side of the screen.
5. Select either the slight blur or full blur option under the Background section. The change will take effect immediately for all participants on the call.

Keep in mind that blurring your background relies heavily on your computer’s processor. If you are using an older device, you may notice that enabling the blur effect causes your video to lag or your computer’s fan to run loudly. If this happens, you may need to disable the blur to ensure a smooth meeting experience.